The Mailer Review/Volume 13, 2019/On the State of Mailer Studies: A Conversation with J. Michael Lennon: Difference between revisions
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Did it accelerate tensions or create conflicts that perhaps someone with a | Did it accelerate tensions or create conflicts that perhaps someone with a | ||
more stable identity of either insider or outsider might not encounter? | more stable identity of either insider or outsider might not encounter? | ||
'''JML''': Oh, I think that there were definitely losses that came from him jumping back and forth across that fence. But, overall, I think that it was a plus. | |||
It enabled him to maintain his singular critical perspective. For example, | |||
giving up two years of his life leading PEN meant he wasn’t writing much | |||
during that time, and he had regrets about that. But once he was in it, he | |||
stuck to his commitment, including organizing and hosting the 1986 International PEN conference, and rewriting the bylaws of the organization. Gay | |||
Talese told me that Norman came in and organized numerous committees, | |||
and this required rewriting the bylaws. They were needed, so Norman just | |||
sat down and personally re-wrote them. Gay Talese could not believe it. Well, | |||
that was Norman; he threw himself right into things. | |||
He lost a lot of time, however, doing things like that. Another example | |||
was running for mayor of New York with Jimmy Breslin. He gave away a big | |||
chunk of time in 1969 on that campaign He said that, if elected, he would | |||
give up writing. I think he must have had his fingers crossed when he said | |||
that. All of these forays, including filmmaking, cost him a great deal of lost | |||
time and he had regrets. But, on the other hand, there was a part of him that | |||
rebelled against the grind of writing six hours a day, six days a week, and felt | |||
the need to get out in the world and get roughed up. Right to the end he was | |||
seeking new experience, which he once called “the church of one’s acquired | |||
knowledge.” | |||
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