Norman Mailer - like Hemingway became a larger than life character. Mailer more so than Hemingway at times overshadowed his own works. He did not sit on the sidelines - a pioneer in participative journalism, he laid the groundwork for Hunter S. Thompson. Starting out as a novelist, he helped create the genre of creative non-fiction. He was a life long activist, often choosing the unpopular side of controversial issues. He seemed to revel in evoking animosity. No matter how you felt about Mailer and his opinions, he definitely helped shape the discussions and confronted America with issues that they would have otherwise wanted to avoid or sweep under the carpet.
So a folk song to Norman Mailer:
Look around me and what do you see, Norman Mailer looking down on me
Could it be his right hand, acting like he was a boxing man
A poor soldier who would go onto fight a bruising ego with all of his might
He saw himself so clearly, in novels obscured by reality
Scorned you once in the seventies view you now with empathy
Look around you what do you see Norman Mailer looking down on thee.
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From Andy:
Good article in this week's New Yorker - Archiveof Norman Mailer's letters:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/06/081006fa_fact_mailer?currentPage=all
To the Editor of Playboy
December 21, 1962
Dear Sir,
I wish you hadn’t billed the debate between William Buckley and myself as a meeting between a conservative and a liberal. I don’t care if people call me a radical, a rebel, a red, a revolutionary, an outsider, an outlaw, a Bolshevik, an anarchist, a nihilist, or even a left conservative, but please don’t ever call me a liberal.
Yours,
Norman Mailer
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