91.34

“Mailer Raises Sword against Critics’ Pens.” Article-interview by Carlin Romano. Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 October, Sec. F, pp. 1, 8. Several of Romano’s quotes come from earlier interviews with other writers on the subject of 91.26. The piece ends with Mailer’s comment on self-pity: “Who ever committed murder or incest without [first] being drenched in self-pity? Self-pity is the core of it all. If one spent every day cleaning the self-pity out, the way animals take pests out of their hide, we’d each be that inch closer to where we want to be.” Quotes, positive and negative, from five reviews of 91.26 are given by Romano.