Lipton’s Journal/Correspondence of Robert Lindner and Norman Mailer/Introduction: Difference between revisions

The letters show us how the friendship develops; at first they talk about literature and discuss their work and their ideas. But as their affection for each other deepens, Mailer will turn to Lindner for advice and feedback, while Lindner will reach out to Mailer for help in the craft of writing or of maneuvering in the publishing world. They call each other “hermano” or “brother of mine” and frequently mention their desire to meet in person and nurture their friendship over a quart of whisky. They discuss politics, psychoanalysis, philosophy, their wives, and also their own psyches.

The tenor of the letters varies through time but in the first two years, up to the rejection of ''The Deer Park'' by Rinehart, and the beginning of the journal, it is evident that Mailer trusts Lindner’s judgment and expresses himself openly in his letters. Lindner at times acts as an older brother, at others as a therapist. In many letters we see a devoted friend expressing his love and need for Mailer’s affection, and his admiration for the writer’s talent. Mailer, not one to easily open his most intimate thoughts to another, trusts Lindner and sends him the pages of the journal as he writes them.