December 24, 2011

Dear Cyndy,

It's Christmas Eve, Heilig Abend, and I fear I have metamorphosed into Ebenezer Scrooge.  No Christmas Tree, no Christmas Carols, no Christmas Dinner, not even an electronic rendition of the Christmas Oratorio.  Just possibly an advanced state of progressive spiritual atrophy.

Thank you for your letter. Don't fret about Katenus. If he fades, there will be other characters to replace him. One of the faults of my composition is that it focusses too narrowly on Mengs and Joachim. I will try to expand the novel's horizons. Just possibly, after 910 pages, I should call it quits, turn myself into William Faulkner or John Updike and start again. My trouble: I don't really want to.

I'm much interested in your thoughts about Islandhood. Where, in which book to you discuss it? Please write me more. Katenus has commented extensively on the intra-island hostility of which he is the victim.  Nantucket is, of course very small, with a measly 4500 permanent inhabitants and a transverse dimension less than 20 miles. I would expect the effect of insularity on a large complex political structure with a population of millions to be somewhat different. You have an eager student.

Klemens tells me that Nathaniel's first Eroica lecture went well, that there was an audience of about 25, including an English professor who both endorsed and augmented what Nathaniel had to say. I missed the occasion because I have a lousy memory and I neglected to check my appointment book. I suspect I was not reminded because Nathaniel was understandably more comfortable in my absence. I'll have to inquire delicately whether he prefer that I not show up for the da capo on Thursday either.

I have been working on my website. I've tried to unclutter the screens with a bit of hierarchical rearrangement. All the documents are still there. If you're interested in a really good text, look at Klemens' undergraduate thesis. http://home.earthlink.net/~ernstmeyer Then click on 10. Im Speicher - from the attic, then on 4. Undergraduate Thesis. I apologize for the advertising.

After some meditation concerning the optimal investment of my time and energy, I've decided, whether from narcissism, grandiosity or other motivation I can't say, to expand my do-it-yourself Internet server with diverse files of questionable quality presently in the computer as well as with pre-computing i.e. pre 1983 typed and handwritten texts, letters and other documents that are stored in many boxes scattered through the house. These papers I would scan into pdf files. It's a large long-term project which I contemplate, and I may not persevere.  I'm even now drafting an uptodate preface to explain my rationale.  I'll send you a translation when it's ready; and as always, I welcome (harsh) criticism.

That's all I have on my mind just now. There may be more later.

Merry Christmas

Jochen

* * * * * *