Thanks for the encouraging words. The site actually doesn't take up all that much of my time. I would like to give it a new design sometime or other but that will have to wait,as will the historical source page.

You are obviously a true believer as far as Whittemore is concerned. So am I. It is reaffirmed every time I delve into the books.

I'm glad that you can take time to drop into the Jerusalem Dreaming message board.

Anne

--Previous Message--
: Anne,
:
: Thanks once again for your prompt response.
: Your dedication to this sight and its
: visitors is commendable. I'm happy to ear
: that you have found an excuse, albeit a
: rather productive one, to delve into the
: Quartet once again.
:
: My semester recently ended and I, too, have
: begun re-reading Sinai Tapestry during the
: break. The first section of this novel may
: very well be my favorite, if I dare choose
: one, bit of Whittemore craft. That the
: novel begins with the birth of Strongbow, a
: character built upon notions of chaos,
: disorder, and contradiction, and ends with
: his retirement to the Yemen after Sophia has
: locked away Wallenstein, God, the very
: foundation of order, is simply amazing. The
: discourse of each character was at odds with
: the other and it is not surprising, to this
: reader, that Strongbowism reigned supreme.
:
: Sorry for the rant. I get carried away in
: the world of EW.
:
: Take care,
: Joe
: --Previous Message--
: Pleased to meet you, Joseph.
:
: I agree with you about historicizing
: Whittemore's world.
:
: As I translated Sinai Tapestry, I put
: together a timeline of the events in the
: book, which editor Gerard Klein decided to
: publish as an appendix of the French
: edition.
:
: I'm currently completing this timeline as I
: translate Jerusalem Poker, and it'll
: eventually cover the whole Quartet.
:
: Maybe Anne'll be interested in an English
: translation for this site. As a starting
: point to the historicizing project...
:
: Back to deadline-fighting.
:
: Jean-Daniel
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hello Anne. I am very pleased to again visit
: the site and see such engaging and recent
: conversation regarding Whittemore. I am only
: disappointed that I am joining, really
: reacting to, the discussion so late.
:
: Anyway, the notion of historicizing
: Whittemore's world seems to me the first
: major step in situating his novels into some
: kind of ideological framework. It seems,
: too, a huge undertaking. His apparent
: knowledge and intentional weaving of the
: most obscure historical facts is still
: relatively unresearched. I suspect that
: each of Whittemore's characters, whether
: some historical archetype or synthesis of
: several historical figures, or an image of
: someone close to him, or formerly close to
: him, or Whittemore himself, conceals some
: relevance to a factual, documented
: individual. Each setting too, a situation
: crafted with an actual, but often
: manipulated historical event close in mind.
: That the characters and events often do not
: interact chronologically is only further
: testament to his craft. This, along with
: his rhetorical references to other works and
: his denunciation of, yet direct application
: of modern and contemporary theorists,
: Whittemore's world seems to reflect the
: random and chaotic (yet historically
: influenced) ideals as evidenced in
: Strongbowism. To consider the task of
: historicizing all four (or five) novels is
: enough discussion, or material for a
: website, for the present.
:
: Again, I really enjoyed your and
: Jean-Daniel's discussion surrounding the
: creation of a website dedicated to
: historicizing Whittemore's world. I would be
: delighted to contribute.
:
: Take care,
: Joseph
:
:
:
:
: