How could someone who supposedly represents the age of (worthwhile)free-thinking and progression be such a misogynist (against birth control, stabbed his wife) and equate criminality with admirable “rebellion?” Isn’t that the defining characteristic of the people Mailer critics….mind-numbing, arrogant, self-glorifying machismo?

The teaser on the site misquotes Mailer on Leary: he actually called Leary a “bland asshole.”

On Norman Mailer

So we’ve lost another one…
Those cantankerous old bastards
whose love of language and conjecture
stir the mind and embolden the soul.. and ol’ Norman, whose work I’ve skimmed and whose articles I’ve laughed over and whose interviews were reliablly entertaining is dead and gone.
The image I have of him is mouth agape, cigar precariously dangling from his lips in shock at Muhammad Ali’s destruction of George Foreman in Zaire. He dIdn’t think that Ali could take down the big man, and when he did, Mailer most graciously ate his words. He said what he meant and whether he did what he said is up to the reckoning that we must all face one day. Good bye and Good Luck Norman… and thanks for the ride.

Haroon Khan, Vancouver

Norman Mailer was one of my three stooges. Tom Wolfe is the true founder of the New Journalism movement.

The internet has made possible unparalled organization among social justice groups world-wide. It allows us to by-pass the traditional news we are spoon-fed each day and find out what is really going on in the world. It was a major contributing factor to the massive protests prior to Iraq War, for example. I respect Mailer’s past work, but he is out-dated now. The old are afraid of the technology of the young (partly because they don’t understand it) and, therefore, try to discredit it anyway they can. It will happen to us all in the end. Good bye Norm.

*buttons

I’m 23 and I could not put into words the frustration of being in the center stage of the generation that is run by the internet — but Mr. Mailer did an excellent job: “But in the end, you found something, it was really exciting. Now you hit a couple of buttings and you get some information. It is slightly deadening.”

Agreed. Where is the spontaneity of learning gone? Where is the humbleness of not knowing something but taking the time out to learn it slowly, fully, instead of wikipedia’ing it gone?
It goes from everything to knowledge of things in the world to knowledge of people — now, internet gives us the 5 minute version of someone through myspace and facebook - it is so convenient to be a “friend”. That is not substance.

I used to read Mailer when I was young and hearing him again is like listening to an old friend. He has a good mind. There are smart and clever people in this world but sometimes they end up in Jonestown or Iraq because they don’t have good brains. Mailer has a good brain and he rings true.

Mailer’s thoughts are a mixture of just right and inaccurate.

Bush is without honor, true; but the engine of the presidency now is manipulation of reality, and not honor. The Clinton and Bush teams worked like gravediggers in the night, abusing language in the service of convincing TV yakkers that administration views were popular views.

If he thinks Hillary Clinton is admirable for her work ethic, he’ll have another thing coming. She has:

-wallowed in conspiratorial accusations (even if much of them are true)
-proved intolerant of subordinate criticism
-focused on piddly symbolism (flag burning amendment) rather than burning issues (Iraq)

I’m skeptical of Obama, too. But at least he opposed the war–out loud, before it started. And he is comfortable in his own skin, able to finesse issues without gargoyling himself like Hillary does. (Edwards is closer to Obama than Hillary in these ways.)

Returning to Mailer’s point: a candidate will show their honor, or lack thereof, before they get to the White House. Presidents don’t change their personalities or flaws all that much. Another President Clinton would certainly have more brains than Bush…but she would be just as paranoid and embittered by her perceived and real enemies.

amen joe. furthermore, who’s doing the editing?

Who the heck is doing this interview? Right. Yeah. Giggle giggle. Who’s the worst president? Yeah. Giggle.

You must see the irony of having Beavis interview Norman Mailer.

Big Songs In Small Places

I read your
Contract, filled in the blanks, but
Bailed at the bottom. Orange County
Ripped me off; Billboard
Bored me. The music
/Culture biz has gotten worse

nixon’s inner light probably smelled like flatulence…

Thanx for this. Interesting insights. “Culture’s been deteriorating.” Indeed, Mr Mailer, indeed.