Norman Mailer - 1923
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Read another essay on Norman Mailer written by New York student
Derek Smith.I. Biography
Norman Mailer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on January 31, 1923. In 1927, Mailer's family moved to the city of Brooklyn where he began his studies at a private school. At the age of 16 Mailer entered Harvard University, where he studied to become an aeronautical engineer. During this time, Mailer found a special interest to become a writer.
In 1944, Mailer was inducted into the army. During this period of time Mailer specialized in field artillery, was an intelligence clerk in a cavalry unit and a rifleman with a reconnaissance platoon in the Philippine Mountains. In the 60s, Mailer developed a hybrid literature, combing fiction and nonfiction narratives in The Armies of the Night. This won both Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award. Norman Mailer became the New York State author between the years of 1991-1993.
In addition to writing novels, Mailer has also written films. Not only this Mailer has also directed and played in his films. Wild 90 (1967) is written to an adaptation to Deer Park. Mailer has also run for mayor of New York winning 6% of the vote in a five man primary. Norman Mailer has married six times and has nine children.
II. Works of Norman Mailer
The Naked and the Dead. New York: Rinehart, 1948.
Barbary Shore. New York: Rinehart, 1951.
The Deer Park. New York: Putnam's, 1955.
An American Dream. New York: Dail, 1965.
The Short Fiction on Norman Mailer. New York: Dell, 1965.
Why are We in Vietnam. New York: Putnam's, 1967.
Tough Guys Don't Dance. New York: Random House, 1984.
Harlot's Ghost. New York: random House, 1991.
Norman Mailer through out most of his life has written in the New York area.
III. Interview with Writer
Interviews with Norman Mailer. Interview done by CNN.
Lamb: "Where are you on political spectrums today?"
Mailer: "I am what I call a left conservative. I can find it in a variety of ways. Maybe if we talk about politics, if we're going to, it'll come out."
Lamb: "Is there anyone in politics running for office that you administrate?"
Later on in the interview,
Lamb: "How many kids do you have?"
Mailer: "I have nine kids. They're not all there at the same time."
Lamb: "All from the same wife?"
Mailer: "No I have been married a few times."
Lamb: "How many times have you been married?"
Mailer: "Six times."
IV. Court Hearing on Naked Lunch
The Court: "What is the association between Big Table, and Naked Lunch?"
Mailer: "Big Table is a magazine."
The Court: "I assume it is a trade magazine."
Mailer: " Big Table was a magazine that was put out by some editors that had left the Chicago Review, which was a literary magazine of the University of Chicago.
De Grazia: "Mr. Mailer would you now tell us, in your own words, the importance that you see in the novel, changing it as it may be?"
Mailer: "Well, the change I have mentioned, the change—because what is interesting about it to me---I started reading the book. I liked the book very much when I read it. The last time I said, 'fine thing.' I started to read it with trepidation, whether I didn't like it as much."
The Court: "Did that concern you too much?"
Mailer: "Well if I'm going to testify on it."
The Court: "In that light, pardon me."
Mailer: "So, I found as I read it---."
The Court: "If you read a book once and took a fancy to it and read a second time and didn't like it, you wouldn't want to take your life under those circumstances, would you?"
Mailer: "No, sir. At any rate I found I had more respect for the reading of it the first time. I haven't finished it. I had to read slowly and think about it great deal, as to respect for it. I have a feeling that it is much more of a literary work than I felt the previous time, even though the previous time I felt it was a work of talent. The man has extraordinary talent. Possibly he is the most talented writer in America. As a professional writer I don't like to go about bestowing credit on any other writers.
V. Links
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/burning/mailer-rushdie.html
The Boston Trail of the "Naked Truth." Exerts from testimony of Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg.
http://www.lib.siu.edu/cni/b411.html
New York State writers institution State University of New York. Norman Mailer State Author 1991-1993.
http://www.Albany.edu/writers-inst/mailer.html
Kc's Homepage Norman Mailer.
http://www.iol.ie/~kic/index.html
This essay was submitted by a student of Marylin Dykens, a teacher at Rome Free Academy in Rome, New York.