Norman Mailer, 1923-2007

Malcolm Jones had best run and hide, for surely Morris and Mailer are climbing out of their graves to avenge the unthinkable blunder of mistaking the Mailer work that cost Morris his job as editor of Harper's. It was "Prisoner of Sex" not "Armies of the Night" with which Morris filled an issue of the magazine - his final issue as editor. I remember this because, working as a newspaper reporter in Iowa at the time, I covered a school board meeting in Muscatine, wbere parents were trying to protect their children from some novel they deemed pornographic. I don't remember the novel, as it was something considerably tamer than "Prisoner of Sex." But the story I filed on that meeting mentioned that a copy of Morris' final issue of Harper's sat in plain view on a rack next to the school board members in the high school library as they discussed banning the book under fire - it might have been "Catcher in the Rye" or something of similar middlebrow notoriety. My only regret is that my story probably prompted the principal to remove the magazine post haste. - Matt Paust

A prime example of how the tyranny of the NYC Elitists put forth their propaganda in this obit on the rest of the country. A man remembered for his 6!! marriages, helping a killer do it again, a drunk who was certainly an elitist in the NYC party circuit lording over all the "poor country bumpkins" west of the Hudson. Too bad you never learned from another written work, "A Principled Life."

wow, i shouldn't be shocked to hear that Mr. Mailer, in his death, has elicited some negative emotional feedback. He pissed allot of people off, cantankerous, soddy old bastard that he could be. And so smart, curious, opinionated and elegant in his crabby way. He was very gracious, generous, and encouraging to me, even though he stared at my breasts while speaking. and i don't have great breasts. Macho, huge personality, mysoginistic-ish, but fun as hell to argue with. He may have had a personality disorder, but his life force was hard to match. geez, and those of you who who are damning him to hell....bad form. Anyway, he would probably find it interesting, and write an engaging best seller.

POSTED BY: SOONER 65
I ONLY WISH THAT MAILER WOULD HAVE HAD A SLOWER AND MORE PAINFUL DEATH. HE WAS AND WILL ALWAYS BE A VILE, FOUL CANCER ON SOCIETY AND THE ONLY GOOD IS THAT HE IS DEAD IN HELL! MAY HE NEVER REST AND ALWAYS BE IN PAIN AND SUFFERING.....

POSTED BY SOONER 65
COMMENT: IT IS TRUELY UNFORTUNATE THAT MAILER DIDN'T DIE A MORE PAINFUL AND SLOW DEATH. HE WAS AND WILL ALWAYS BE A VILE CANCER THAT DID NO GOOD FOR ANYONE ELSE BUT HIMSELF. THE WORLD IS SO MUCH BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM AND HIS KIND BEING ABLE TO MORE AIR THRU THEIR LYRNX INITIATING WORDS. HOPE YOU ENJOY HELL MAILER-YOU DESERVE IT.....

POSTED BY SOONER 65
COMMENT: IT IS TRUELY UNFORTUNATE THAT MAILER DIDN'T DIE A MORE PAINFUL AND SLOW DEATH. HE WAS AND WILL ALWAYS BE A VILE CANCER THAT DID NO GOOD FOR ANYONE ELSE BUT HIMSELF. THE WORLD IS SO MUCH BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM AND HIS KIND BEING ABLE TO MORE AIR THRU THEIR LYRNX INITIATING WORDS. HOPE YOU ENJOY HELL MAILER-YOU DESERVE IT.....

When it comes to Mailer's legacy, I would like to hear the imput from the family of the man murdered by his protege-Jack Abbott. Mailer championed his release, vouched for the safety of the community and argued that the man had changed. Abbott was released after spending more than 10 years locked up for crimes against persons. He was violent. His "novel", "In the Belly of the Beast" became a sensation. Touted in literary circles in New York as a great find. Ask the family of the victim of Abbott's rage what they might begin to think regarding Mailer's legacy. Well-meaning, self-absorbed celebrities: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, et al, should not have the slightest bit of sway with a parole board when it comes to releasing monsters from prison. Have a nice rest Mr. Mailer

Maybe we should ask the family of the person Jack Abbott killed within an absurdly short period ot time after being released "into my custody", according to the self-absorbed Mr. Mailer. He had found this new genius wallowing in prison. Abbott was his pearl, who had written "In the Belly of the Beast". That is where he thought he was plunging his knife after an argument with some poor guy outside of a restaurant one evening. He could not know he was dealing with the monster that Mailer released (or is that unleashed?). Again, let the family of that poor man have their say regarding Mailer's legacy.

"Never derailed by his fame." Is the author kidding? He's discussing a novelist whose first novel was his best by far; who pissed away his talent in narcissistic play-acting and self-indulgent preening; who spent years ass-kissing celebrities and fronting for celebrity causes; who wrote books about Jesus, Hitler, Marilyn Monroe, Lee Harvey Oswald and "Aquarius" (not too pretentious, eh?); who craved the spotlight; and who was always looking at himself in the mirror of his own regard. Yes, he was constantly trying to re-invent himself, but that desire is nothing to celebrate. It is the touchstone of modern decadence. It is evidence of the absence of a well-grounded sense of self in the chameleon-like artist-manques of our time.

Reading through this obituary I kept thinking to myself, "What an excellent piece." --Then I came to the next to the last sentence, and what was obituary-writing excellence fell to ***.
Allow me to quote, "...from the forward he wrote..."
Notice anything? Clearly not.
The word would be "foreword."
An inexcusable grammatical error for any writer let alone a contributor for Newsweek.

Norman Mainler reminds me of Aleister Crowley, one of the most wicked men living at the turn of the
century who followed his own "religion" of "magick" and left behind a legacy much like Mailer, regarding women., he led them to alcohol, drugs, etc. God admonishes us to keep our mind on pleasant things...
now is that what Mailer did in his writing? I'm sure that he is where the Lord has sent him.

Personal life aside, he was a longstanding and great author who did not limit himsel;f to one genre. He will be remembered for what he did best, and that was write. One of the greatest writers of the 20 century. Everybody nowadays wants to pigeonhole everybody and everything. This man refused to be pigeonholed. Never predictable and ready to give an opinion on anything and everything. He will be missed.

Yeah great man,,,, How many time was this lecher married ? If you think he's something to emulate, then add all the other fornicators inHollywood.

He has a 'legacy'? Surely you jest.