83.50

“Modern Evenings: An Interview with Norman Mailer.” By Michael Schumacher. Writer’s Digest, October, 30–34. The chief theme of this thoughtful interview is risk: the risk of being a working writer, the risk of reviews, of changing styles, fame, the tides of luck. Mailer says, “I’m almost more comfortable with a tough tide. I get nervous when I’m on a good tide, because I figure prosperity is something I’ve never steered too well.” He also comments on Hilary Mills’s biography (82.23), saying, “I think she stuck to every story at face value. None of them are adjusted or weighed.” See 83.32, 84.5.