The CL49 thread of the PynchonWiki:
http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Crying_of_Lot_49

The main page of the PynchonWiki:
http://pynchonwiki.com

The Spermatikos Logos (Thomas Ruggles Pynchon) thread on The Modern World website:
http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/

The San Narcisco College Thomas Pynchon Homepage (San Narcisco does not exist, it’s the city that CL49 takes place in):
http://www.pynchon.pomona.edu/

Thomas Pynchon Links & Resources page:
http://www.thomaspynchon.com/pynchonalia.html

In case you’re interested, a link to a short play I wrote sometime ago in which Pynchon is a character, along with my alter-ego, Yves Fissiault, discussing creative/subversive possibilities for ARPANET, the early defense department internet:
http://netherzone.blogspot.com/

The “Muted Postal Horn” is a symbol that comes from Thomas Pynchon’s novel, The Crying of Lot 49 (otherwise known to Pynchon-fanatics, like myself, as CL49). CL49 is sometimes referred to as the first work of postmodern fiction. Below describes the relevant parallel to the Letterboxing project, and explains why I posted my question to the list, “Is this letterboxing thing something like the Pynchonian W.A.S.T.E. system, as per CL49? Exempli gratia: archaic, random, conspiratorial, cryptic, and et cetera. I’m not familiar with it.”

In a nutshell, the plot revolves around a cryptic, archaic, conspiratorial centuries-old alternative postal system, refered to in the novel as “W.A.S.T.E.”, and is symbolized by the muted post horn. A centuries-old conflict is revealed between two mail distribution systems, “Thurn und Taxis” and “Trystero” (sometimes known as Tristero.) Thurn und Taxis actually existed historically (and I believe was connected to the elite European family of the same name) – it was the very first firm to distribute postal mail!!! Pynchon invented Trystero as a play on this. The muted post horn is allegedly derived from the Thurn und Taxis coat of arms.

Now, here’s some interesting correlations…..both from the novel and from history…an intermixture of fact and fiction: “After being defeated by Thurn und Taxis in the 1700’s the Trystero organization goes underground and continues to exist, with its mailboxes in the least suspected places, often appearing under their slogan, W.A.S.T.E., an acronym for “We Await Silent Tristero’s Empire,” and also a smart way of hiding their post-boxes disguised as regular waste-bins.” (Here is where I find relevance to Burning Man…there are no waste-bins allowed, and so a letter-box marked with W.A.S.T.E. at Burning Man would be doubly charged – it would encrypt a secret postal system, while at the same time present a forbidden icon: a waste bin!) More on the plot of the novel: “The existence and plans of the shadowy organization are reveled bit by bit, or, then again, it is possible that the Trystero does not exist at all.” The first sighting of the muted post horn, in the novel occurs when the novel’s main character, Oedipa Maas, sees it on an advertisement for group sex from a polyamorous group, in a bar bathroom graffitto. She later sees it everywhere (in an engineer’s drawing for a Maxwell’s Demon apparatus to defeat entropy; scratched in chalk on the sidewalk by children; and in rare postage stamps.

The symbol of the muted post horn is a familiar icon to those of us who are obsessed with Thomas Pynchon (his work has deeply inspired my creative work), and also always implies secret communications through an alternative mail system. Hence, to my mind, the reference to the idea of “hiding a letterbox” for a “Letterboxing event” at Burning Man. I was previously unaware of what Letterboxing is, but it reminds me of this fascinating literary metaphor, by my hero, T.P. (that’s short for Thomas Pynchon, not toilet paper.) Pynchon plays such a large role in my artistic practice, that sometimes I assume everyone has read CL49. Hope this helps. Two of my lovely ex-students (and sometime collaborators), Chelsea and Michel, who were hoping to come to BM this year but cannot afford to, had talked to me on numerous occasions about wanting to do a project creating a W.A.S.T.E. mail system as a BM public service — we have been discussing it over the months and I had mentioned it to Erika and maybe also to Tom. It’s all connected.

As always, cryptically yours, Eve.