The Mailer Review/Volume 5, 2011/Tributes to Norris Church Mailer: Difference between revisions
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="font-size:22px;">''The Mailer Review''/Volume 5, 2011/</span>Tributes to Norris Church Mailer}} | |||
{{MR05}} | {{MR05}} | ||
{{byline|type=Edited|last=Mailer|first=John Buffalo|url=https://prmlr.us/mr11jbma}} | {{byline|type=Edited|last=Mailer|first=John Buffalo|url=https://prmlr.us/mr11jbma}} | ||
{{Large|Mom}} | |||
My father once dedicated a book he and I wrote together to my mother, with the words: | My father once dedicated a book he and I wrote together to my mother, with the words: | ||
{{cquote|To A Lovely Lady — Norris Church Mailer}} | {{cquote|To A Lovely Lady — Norris Church Mailer}} | ||
| Line 25: | Line 27: | ||
==Tributes== | ==Tributes== | ||
{{div col}} | {{div col|colwidth=20em}} | ||
* '''[[Norman Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Norman Mailer]]'''<br />[[/From Norman to Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[Matthew Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Matthew Mailer]]'''<br />[[/A View Through the Prism/]] | ||
* '''[[Norris Church Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Norris Church Mailer]]'''<br />[[/An Unspoken Toast/]] | ||
* '''[[Peter Alson]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Peter Alson]]'''<br />[[/What Would Be the Fun of That?/]] | ||
* '''[[Stephen Borkowski]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Stephen Borkowski]]'''<br />[[/Grace Notes/]] | ||
* '''[[John Bowers]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[John Bowers]]'''<br />[[/Remembering Norris Church/]] | ||
* '''[[Christopher Busa]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Christopher Busa]]'''<br />[[/The Norris I Knew/]] | ||
* '''[[Nancy Collins]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Nancy Collins]]'''<br />[[/Norris Mailer/]] | ||
* '''[[Bonnie Culver]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Bonnie Culver]]'''<br />[[/Norris: A Memory/]] | ||
* '''[[David Ebershoff]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[David Ebershoff]]'''<br />[[/Rise Above It/]] | ||
* '''[[Katrina Eugenia]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Katrina Eugenia]]'''<br />[[/Lip Liner/]] | ||
* '''[[Diane Fisher]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Diane Fisher]]'''<br />[[/I Will Love Her Forever/]] | ||
* '''[[Margo Howard]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Margo Howard]]'''<br />[[/Remembering Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[Aurora Huston]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Aurora Huston]]'''<br />[[/Twins/]] | ||
* '''[[Rudy Langlais]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Rudy Langlais]]'''<br />[[/Sister Mailer/]] | ||
* '''[[Michael Lee]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Michael Lee]]'''<br />[[/Norris Church Mailer: An Appreciation/]] | ||
* '''[[Sondra Lee]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Sondra Lee]]'''<br />[[/I Miss You/]] | ||
* '''[[Barry H. Leeds]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Barry H. Leeds]]'''<br />[[/My Friend Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[Donna Pedro Lennon]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Donna Pedro Lennon]]'''<br />[[/A Formidable Lady/]] | ||
* '''[[J. Michael Lennon]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[J. Michael Lennon]]'''<br />[[/Remembering Norris: Excerpts from an Unpublished Account of Norman Mailer’s Last Days/]] | ||
* '''[[Avram Ludwig]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Avram Ludwig]]'''<br />[[/Norris to Me/]] | ||
* '''[[Danielle Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Danielle Mailer]]'''<br />[[/A Tribute to Norris Church Mailer/]] | ||
* '''[[Elizabeth Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Elizabeth Mailer]]'''<br />[[/Girls’ Lunch at Café Blasé/]] | ||
* '''[[Maggie Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Maggie Mailer]]'''<br />[[/Remembering Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[Michael Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Michael Mailer]]'''<br />[[/A Summer to Remember/]] | ||
* '''[[Susan Mailer]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Susan Mailer]]'''<br />[[/The Way We Were/]] | ||
* '''[[Legs McNeil]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Legs McNeil]]'''<br />[[/A Perfect Day/]] | ||
* '''[[Jeffrey Michelson]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Jeffrey Michelson]]'''<br />[[/Candid Snapshots of Norris Mailer/]] | ||
* '''[[Aimee Mullins]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Aimee Mullins]]'''<br />[[/Beautiful/]] | ||
* '''[[Mark Olshaker]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Mark Olshaker]]'''<br />[[/The Memorable Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[Brian O’Malley]]''', MD<br />[[ | * '''[[Brian O’Malley]]''', MD<br />[[/Norris Church Mailer and the Provincetown Theater/]] | ||
* '''[[Denise Doherty Pappas]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Denise Doherty Pappas]]'''<br />[[/Our Lady of Provincetown/]] | ||
* '''[[Dotson Rader]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Dotson Rader]]'''<br />[[/Norris Mailer/]] | ||
* '''[[Sam Radin]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Sam Radin]]'''<br />[[/Norris Reminiscence/]] | ||
* '''[[Dwayne Raymond]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Dwayne Raymond]]'''<br />[[/Norris, My Friend/]] | ||
* '''[[Salina Sias]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Salina Sias]]'''<br />[[/Almost the Same: A Dedication/]] | ||
* '''[[Lawrence Schiller]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Lawrence Schiller]]'''<br />[[/They Were Perfect Together/]] | ||
* '''[[Natasha Stoynoff]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Natasha Stoynoff]]'''<br />[[/Melly and Scarlett/]] | ||
* '''[[Richard Stratton]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Richard Stratton]]'''<br />[[/In Praise of a Redhead/]] | ||
* '''[[Barbara Wasserman]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Barbara Wasserman]]'''<br />[[/Some Thoughts about Norris/]] | ||
* '''[[John T. “Ike” Williams]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[John T. “Ike” Williams]]'''<br />[[/Norris Church Mailer: A Complex Simple Woman/]] | ||
* '''[[John Wiley]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[John Wiley]]'''<br />[[/A Floppy Hat and a Bench/]] | ||
* '''[[Guy Wolf]]'''<br />[[ | * '''[[Guy Wolf]]'''<br />[[/Norris Church Mailer: A Voice in the Dark/]] | ||
{{div col end}} | {{div col end}} | ||
{{Review|state=expanded}} | {{Review|state=expanded}} | ||
[[Category:Written by John Buffalo Mailer]] | [[Category:Written by John Buffalo Mailer]] | ||
[[Category:Contents]] | [[Category:Contents (MR)]] | ||
[[Category:Tributes (MR)]] | [[Category:Tributes (MR)]] | ||
Latest revision as of 07:34, 23 May 2022
| « | The Mailer Review • Volume 5 Number 1 • 2011 • Norris Mailer: A Life in Words | » |
Mom
My father once dedicated a book he and I wrote together to my mother, with the words:
| “ | To A Lovely Lady — Norris Church Mailer | ” |
At the time I felt that it was a bit simple, that perhaps we could come up with something more elegant. But, of course, my father held his ground and we went with it. Now that both of my parents have crossed over, I am beginning to understand more and more why he was absolutely right to stick with that dedication.
I keep a picture on my desk of mom and dad at a fancy party, Don King standing between them, his arms around each. She holds her glass with a delicate grace, as she handled just about everything life had to throw her way. The grin at the edges of her lips indicates a mixture of awe and understanding, like she knows that where she is, who she is standing next to, and what she is looking at are special, a rare treat few get to experience. But her eyes reveal an inner confidence, the knowledge that although she is at one of the parties that people of such taste always dream of going to, she is just as special as anyone there. Her humility was such that she would never allow herself to think she was more special than anyone else, but just as special, that she knew in every way.
Perhaps this is what people loved most about my mother; she had every right to act the role of a queen (for truly, when one was face to face with Barbara Jean Davis Norris Church Mailer, her beauty had a stupefying effect not unlike the sensation one gets when unexpectedly faced with royalty), but she was never anything less than the genuine, kind girl from the heart of this country who grew up with a mud floor and an outhouse until she was seven years old. She made anyone who talked to her feel as though not only theirs, but everyone’s dreams were possible. When you met her at a party, for the short time you got to spend in her presence, she made you feel as beautiful as she was, as if anyone could be under the right light.
She didn’t hold her beauty above anyone’s head, or use it to excuse rude behavior. She was never rude. At least, she was never rude to anyone who didn’t bring it on themselves with less than a tasteful remark within her earshot. Mom was fond of defending other people and it didn’t matter who you were or where you were, if you stepped out of line, she would let you know in no small terms. As a result, one always wanted to be a better person when they were around my mom.
With every word that I read in helping The Mailer Review put this tribute together, it became clearer and clearer to me that this is the effect she had on the vast majority of people who were lucky enough to know her. After having worked as an editor for three national magazines, I have to say that this was the hardest editing job I have ever undertaken. I would be lying if I told you that tears did not come to my eyes with each piece submitted. But I also cannot describe the joy I felt as I experienced the revelation of getting to know my mother through the lens of each of these talented and generous writers collected herein.
My hope is that in reading this tribute, those who miss my mother will once again have the opportunity to spend time in her world through the experiences depicted, and those who never had the good fortune to encounter my mother in the flesh (for we all know she was taken from us far too soon) can get a taste of what she brought to the table, and perhaps carry on the essence of the way she looked at the world; as beautiful, even the rough parts.
This is dedicated to A Lovely Lady — Barbara Jean Davis Norris Church Mailer.
I love you, Mom.
John Buffalo Mailer, October, 2011
Tributes
- Norman Mailer
From Norman to Norris - Matthew Mailer
A View Through the Prism - Norris Church Mailer
An Unspoken Toast - Peter Alson
What Would Be the Fun of That? - Stephen Borkowski
Grace Notes - John Bowers
Remembering Norris Church - Christopher Busa
The Norris I Knew - Nancy Collins
Norris Mailer - Bonnie Culver
Norris: A Memory - David Ebershoff
Rise Above It - Katrina Eugenia
Lip Liner - Diane Fisher
I Will Love Her Forever - Margo Howard
Remembering Norris - Aurora Huston
Twins - Rudy Langlais
Sister Mailer - Michael Lee
Norris Church Mailer: An Appreciation - Sondra Lee
I Miss You - Barry H. Leeds
My Friend Norris - Donna Pedro Lennon
A Formidable Lady - J. Michael Lennon
Remembering Norris: Excerpts from an Unpublished Account of Norman Mailer’s Last Days - Avram Ludwig
Norris to Me - Danielle Mailer
A Tribute to Norris Church Mailer - Elizabeth Mailer
Girls’ Lunch at Café Blasé - Maggie Mailer
Remembering Norris - Michael Mailer
A Summer to Remember - Susan Mailer
The Way We Were - Legs McNeil
A Perfect Day - Jeffrey Michelson
Candid Snapshots of Norris Mailer - Aimee Mullins
Beautiful - Mark Olshaker
The Memorable Norris - Brian O’Malley, MD
Norris Church Mailer and the Provincetown Theater - Denise Doherty Pappas
Our Lady of Provincetown - Dotson Rader
Norris Mailer - Sam Radin
Norris Reminiscence - Dwayne Raymond
Norris, My Friend - Salina Sias
Almost the Same: A Dedication - Lawrence Schiller
They Were Perfect Together - Natasha Stoynoff
Melly and Scarlett - Richard Stratton
In Praise of a Redhead - Barbara Wasserman
Some Thoughts about Norris - John T. “Ike” Williams
Norris Church Mailer: A Complex Simple Woman - John Wiley
A Floppy Hat and a Bench - Guy Wolf
Norris Church Mailer: A Voice in the Dark
