But I don’t want to talk about dick jokes, here. I want to talk about Pynchon’s love stories.
Sean Carswell, sometimes Pynchon scholar, writes about the part of Pynchon no one really talks about: cheesy love stories. Specifically referencing Roger and Jessica from Pynchon’s most well-known book, Gravity’s Rainbow, Carswell talks about the mirror provided for him by Pynchon in those minor characters, and their central importance despite being on the novel’s periphery.
![National Poetry Month: “WHEN PRAYER DIDN’T AWAY THE GAY, MY DAD TAUGHT ME HOW TO PLAY DOOM ON THE FAMILY COMPUTER [Golden Shovel]”](https://therumpus.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/pic-Ty-Raso.jpeg)


