R.I.P. Trevanian
chi...@alamedanet.net
Anyone who who reads posts about literary references to go is
familiar with Shibumi. It is by far the best selling work in English to
mention the game. Considering how large a plot the game plays in the
novel, and how deeply the author entwines Go with his other expositions
of Japanese phuilosophy and culture, it is no surprise that Shibumi
introduced the game to a great many non-players.
Rodney Whitaker, who wrote Shibumi and several other best-sellers
under the pseudonym Trevanian, passed away a day or two ago. A
moderately lengthy obit appears in today's New York Times, as well as
most other papers. There is a one-paragraph mention of the mystery of
his pseudonym. Whitaker was very secretive, used multiple noms de
plume and refused to admit that they were the same person for a number
of years, and even allowed friend[s] to pose as Trevanian at
promotional appearances. However, the twist which turned his identity
into a semi-major puzzle for a while occurred when a staffer in the US
Department of Labor publicly claimed, and got major media outlets to
believe him, that he had been the original Trevanian. James "jack"
Hashian wrote a pair of spy thrillers under his own name and had the
NYT among others believing that he had written Shibumi and other early
Trevanian novels, and had then sold the name to another writer. It
appears today that the most likely hypothesis is that Mr. Hashian had
no connection with Whitaker or "Trevanian", nor was the claim made with
any cooperation or permission from Whitaker.
Since I've been promising various folks that I will get rolling on
my attempt to do an annotated bibliography of literary references to
go, and since I already have much of the Shibumi material in my
previous posts on the subject, I'll get something up this week.
chiwito
rms
> my attempt to do an annotated bibliography of literary references to
> go, and since I already have much of the Shibumi material in my
> previous posts
What I'd like to see more on is some expansion on the forbidden sexual
techniques mentioned in the novel, that Trevanion said in a footnote he was
not at liberty to discuss. Perhaps for fear of unleashing a pandemic of
Free Love on a world unprepared?
rms
ak3...@163.com
Ask you to enjoy (Strange stone)
Chinese river the west province Mr. ZHENG4 BAO3 QING4 of the proper
spring City, a strange stone that collect is like the proletariat
revolution tutor's row very much rather the head be like,
Introduce according to Sir ZHENG4, that strange stone is his year ago
in the trip not intentional detection of.The rock presents the ensign
type, the ash black, in the rock of right up the Cape has the
proletariat revolution tutor's row rather very clear on the side head
to be like, and row rather of eyebrow, eye,, nose simply look exactly
alike, named after" the row is rather the flag" temporary now.
Sir ZHENG4 collects the strange stone conduct and actions to love from
five year ago hurl bodies, his personal strange stone for collect has
several 100s currently, among them, many exquisite articles have to
appreciate sex, recent he still started a strange stone website(
strange stone net of river's west), in order to display his strange
stone to collect as treasure toward large and strange stone fancier.
Telephone:0795-3291371
Picture address:
http://bbs.phoenixtv.com/fhbbs/files/_________523.jpg
Web address:
http://www.nl888.com
Email: huas...@163.com
chi...@alamedanet.net
rms wrote:
Wish I were in any way qualified and knowledgeable enough to
include such a topic in my Shibumi essay.
chiwito, who barely knows the allowed techniques, let alone the
forbidden ones.
Anton
Best Known as Trevanian
By Douglas Martin, New York Times
Published: December 17, 2005
Rodney Whitaker, a writer best known by one of his
many pen names, Trevanian, who was the only writer of
airport paperbacks to be compared to Zola, Ian
Fleming, Poe and Chaucer, died on Wednesday in the
West Country of England. He was 74.
The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
his agent, Michael V. Carlisle, said.
Trevanian's international best sellers, mainly
thrillers, include "The Eiger Sanction" (1972), which
was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood;
"Shibumi" (1979); and "The Loo Sanction" (1973). His
10 known published books sold more than 5 million
copies and were translated into at least 14 languages.
Mr. Whitaker once said he wrote books under at least
five pseudonyms, including Trevanian. Mr. Whitaker was
chairman of the radio, television and film department
at the University of Texas when he wrote his first two
books as smart little spoofs of James Bond. But even
then it was an open question whether he was being
playful with a genre or expanding its limits.
Under his own name, Mr. Whitaker wrote "The Language
of Film" (1970). Under the name Nicholas Seare, he
wrote "1339 . . . or So: Being an Apology for a
Peddler" (1975), a medieval tale, and "Rude Tales and
Glorious: The Account of Diverse Feats of Brawn and
Bawd Performed by King Arthur and His Knights of the
Table Round" (1983).
"I write under five different names on several
subjects - theology, law, aesthetics, film - and want
to keep my readerships separate," he said in an
interview in The New York Times in 1979, which may
have been his first.
Although the entry in "Who's Who" for Trevanian says
that person was born in Tokyo on Jan. 12, 1925, other
sources say Mr. Whitaker himself was born on June 12,
1931, a date that would conform with his age of 74.
In an e-mail interview with The Hartford Courant this
June, he discussed his last book, "The Crazyladies of
Pearl Street," published earlier this year. He said he
spent two two-week sessions with a man who grew up in
the slums near Albany, where the novel is set, to get
information. But in publicity material from the book's
publishers, he admitted the book was essentially his
own autobiography.
Mr. Whitaker told The Times Union, an Albany
newspaper, that he had published novels under the pen
names Benat LeCagot and Edoard Moran. He said his wife
chose the name Trevanian after reading the historian
G. M. Trevelyan.
Adding mightily, but momentarily, to the confusion, a
Washington bureaucrat, James T. Hashian, in 1984 told
The Times he was the first owner of the pen name
Trevanian, although he spelled it Travanian. Mr.
Hashian told The Times he had sold the name to another
writer.
In 1998, a reporter for The Austin American Statesman
examined University of Texas records on Mr. Whitaker.
He reported that Trevanian earned his doctorate in
communications and film from Northwestern University,
had been chairman of the communications division at
Dana College in Blair, Neb., and served in the Navy
during the Korean War. He later won a Fulbright
scholarship to study in England.
Mr. Whitaker's books were generally very well
reviewed. The St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery
Writers said "The Eiger Sanction" was "more
intelligent, witty and stylish" than the Ian Fleming
novels they subtly parodied. After John Leonard in The
Times called "Shibumi" quite silly, he hastened to
add, "It just happens to be the most agreeable
nonsense in commercial fiction this spring."
Mr. Whitaker lived much of his life in a little Basque
village on the French side of the Pyrenees and used it
as a setting in his writing.
He is survived by his wife, the former Diane Brandon;
his sons Lance and Christian, and his daughters
Alexandra and Tomasin.
In 1979, Mr. Whitaker told The Times he wanted to put
Trevanian out of business and "write erudite little
novels for special audiences." For legal reasons that
he mentioned many times and never explained, he could
not shed the pseudonym. As for little novels, his next
book, "The Summer of Katya" (1983) became a best
seller.
Mr. Carlisle pointed out that between that book and
the next, "Incident at Twenty-Mile" (1998), some 15
years passed. During that time, Mr. Whitaker wrote
extensively, and some of that work will be published
posthumously under the name Trevanian.
For all his reluctance to diminish the mystery
surrounding him, Mr. Whitaker emphatically put to rest
a recurrent rumor that Trevanian was really the writer
Robert Ludlum.
"I don't even know who he is," he told The Times in
1979. "I read Proust, but not much else written in the
20th century."
chi...@alamedanet.net
> Rodney Whitaker, Writer, Is Dead at 74;
> Best Known as Trevanian
>
> By Douglas Martin, New York Times
> Published: December 17, 2005
>
>
> Washington bureaucrat, James T. Hashian, in 1984 told
> The Times he was the first owner of the pen name
> Trevanian, although he spelled it Travanian. Mr.
> Hashian told The Times he had sold the name to another
> writer.
>
Mightily but not momentarily. References to Hashian as the author
of a well-known spy series under a nom de plume he was contractually
obligated to deny appear in print from 1982 on with some regularity.
After the 1984 Times article, several standard reference books covering
authors and pseudonyms list "Trevanian" as belonging to both Hashian
and Whitaker. The belief seems to have been widespread until fairly
recently, though accompanied by other more far-fetched hypotheses, such
as Trevanian being either Robert Ludlum or E. V. Lustbader. I must
confess to having spread the misinformation myself on several
occasions. Of course, Whitaker contributed mightily to the identity
theft, being so secretive about his real identity. In fact, I wouldn't
be the least surprised if a parallel name game is still occurring. The
small press which published his last book also has in its stable of
authors [perhaps the only other member of said stable] the creator of a
rather far-fetched system of astrology. Trevanian is the only
idetifiable celeb in a list of endorsements of the astrological system,
and the writer of the astrology books also has a short story in an
anthology with which Whitiker was involved. I would tend to suspect
that the "author" of the system may not exist, and may be yet another
unacknowledged pseudonym of Whitaker.
chiwito
Nikura...@yahoo.com
I am not sure if Rod Whitaker lived any where else in the Pays Basque
but I am fairly certain that the last (or latest) place that Whitaker
lived was the village of Garindein which is just outside of
Mauleon-Licharre for those who are curious.
The reference to two sons I find puzzling. As far as I know Whitaker
only had three children two daughters and a son. I am curious as to the
story behind this one that I wasn't aware of (Lance). Maybe information
will come out now that the author is deceased.
I did manage to track down the other son Christian (via Email) awhile
ago, he stated that he would not discuss his father per his father's
request. He does live in the US.
As far as the "Theory of Eight" website and Trevanian and the
mysterious Andrew Kennedy (Ankh) that is a puzzle in and of itself. I
have been trying to come to a conclusion or theory myself as far as a
connection.
I can tell you that when the 17-page preview version (before the full
version was made availble) of the "Cybernotes" to "The Crazyladies of
Pearl Street" was up earlier this year I downloaded two seperate
versions which I have saved.
In the properties for one it listed an "An Kennedy" as the author and
in the other version I have it lists an "Alexandra Whitaker" as the
author. Of course in the full version the author's name was changed to
Trevanian.
Speaking of the Trevanian website it appears that it is being updated
and perhaps some news or information will be released.
If you are curious I would go to TRUEWHOIS
http://www.truewhois.com/whois.php
and input the domains trevanian.com, theoryofeight.com, and
gravitypublishing.co.uk.
It is a puzzle I must say.
The Trevanian information lists a Ste...@theoryofeight.com as the
administrative contact for the Trevanian website. Stella's last name is
Whitaker and she is located in Seville Spain.
The Theory of Eight website is registered to a Mr Andrew Kennedy
located at Ste. Engrace in France (a place-name which has appeared in
some of the later Trevanian novels).
Curiously Gravity Publishing (on their website) lists offices in London
and Seville, Spain. In addition Rod Whitaker's daughter Alexandra lives
in Seville, Spain (I have supsected that Stella mentioned above is
Whitaker's granddaughter and Alexandra's daughter).
Hope you enjoy chewing over this puzzle.
JJ
---
With his penchant for perplexing puzzles, one wonders if Whitaker
perished!
Whitaker's endorsed Archibald Spencer's book as well. With its
breathless prose, some say Sasha Whitaker has taken over the pen in
Street of the Four Winds.
Then too, there's the classically-educated and enormously entertaining
pisstaker using the nombre de guerra "Spengler" over at AsiaTimes
whose articles (nd comments such as those below)have made him another
"Trevanian" suspect:
"The most tangible legacy of Partisan Review was art critic Clement
Greenberg's promotion of Jackson Pollock, which made respectable the
random splattering of paint by an inebriated boor."
For more of Spengler's scatologia:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/spengler.html
Nikuradse, I'm a little bit familiar with the Haute Soule area. I'm
surprised to learn that Trevanian's last home was in Garindein near
Mauleon-Licharre. I've never been to Garindein, but I have been to
Mauleon. Mauleon's in the lower regions of the Pyrenees so it does not
afford the hilltop views as in the photos shown on trevanian.com.
>From what I know, you only get those views past Abense-de-Haut and
southward of Lichans.
Cheers.
chi...@alamedanet.net
JJ wrote:
>
> Then too, there's the classically-educated and enormously entertaining
> pisstaker using the nombre de guerra "Spengler" over at AsiaTimes
> whose articles (nd comments such as those below)have made him another
> "Trevanian" suspect:
>
> "The most tangible legacy of Partisan Review was art critic Clement
> Greenberg's promotion of Jackson Pollock, which made respectable the
> random splattering of paint by an inebriated boor."
>
> For more of Spengler's scatologia:
> http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/spengler.html
>
I'm baffled by whatever point JJ is trying to make here. Oswald
Spengler is a political whack job of vaguely Larouchie views -- or, as
I think JJ is implyoing, someone impersonating or parodying a political
whack job of vaguely Larouchie views. Both JJ and Nikuradse are far
more conversant with Trevanian's writings than I am, and they are
welcome to correct me, but I've never seen any indication that
Trevanian shares any of Mr. Spengler's viewpoints, or that he has any
particular interest in politics at all. Of course the protagonists in
Shibumi and some of his other novels act out of their political or
societal attitudes, at least to the same degree that everyone, real or
fictional, does so. One may hazard a guess at a number of Trevanian's
social and cultural viewpoints from those of his characters, but I
don't recall his writings being Overtly political, let alone parallel
in any way to Spengler's fantasies.
Doing both a web search and a usenet search on such combos as
Trevanian and jews, Trevanian and politics, or Trevanian and Spengler
leads to no relevant items.
chiwito
Brian R. McDonald
> Rodney Whitaker, Writer, Is Dead at 74;
> Best Known as Trevanian
>
> By Douglas Martin, New York Times
> Published: December 17, 2005
>
>
> Mr. Whitaker told The Times Union, an Albany
> newspaper, that he had published novels under the pen
> names Benat LeCagot and Edoard Moran. He said his wife
> chose the name Trevanian after reading the historian
> G. M. Trevelyan.
Not being prepared to take anything Whitaker said about Trevanian
at face value, I can't help but suspect that the choice of pseudonym was
in large part a tip of the chapeau to B. Traven. Assuming that RW
intended from the start to keep his identity a secret, he certainly
would have been aware of the parallel.
chiwito