98.16a

“Mailer: Lion and Pussycat.” Article by Matt Nesvisky. Jerusalem Post, 14 December, 20. Report on a wide-ranging talk Mailer gave to an unidentified Jewish audience, including remarks on architecture. Unlike the great cathedrals of Europe, Mailer said that modern buildings are often “a fortress of exclusion that reinforces the insignificance of the individual.” Speaking of his writing life, he said, “For the first 25 years of my writing life, I was drenched on politics. But in the second 25 years of my writing life, I’ve been increasingly concerned with matters of religion and spirituality.” He added that he believed in karma “because I think the economy of the universe doesn’t allow for the experience that our souls have accumulated to just dissipate and go to waste.” Asked about his chances for the Nobel, he mentioned several others, including Roth, Updike, Oates and DeLillo. “There’s lots of worthy candidates. But as for me, well, my time for such things has passed.”