The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Tributes to Norman Mailer/Despite Our Differences

From Project Mailer
« The Mailer ReviewVolume 2 Number 1 • 2008 • In Memorium: Norman Mailer: 1923–2007 »

Mailer’s literature is powerful, confrontational — awe-inspiring, really. He had great power and craft as a storyteller. I didn’t always agree with Mailer, especially his views on women, but I will always respect his relentless interrogation of accepted truths. He needled the smug, and rightly so. Unlike many, Mailer fearlessly exposed his thinking, consequences be damned. When reading Mailer, I know what at least one man really thinks about sex, really thinks about politics — scary, but oh so enlightening. Knowing Norman personally was a delight — good listener, straight talk, generosity of spirit, great humor. He would dive right in to the topic at hand, and we’d explore together. Despite our differences, this feminist reverently mourns the passing of Norman Mailer — literary legend, political intellectual, man.