84.27

“Mailer and the Engines of Destruction.” Article-interview by Terry Coleman. Guardian, 20 October. Rambling discussion at Brown’s Hotel in London during Mailer’s tour to promote 84.17. Politics—President Reagan, Geraldine Ferraro, Margaret Thatcher and Casper Weinberger—are discussed more than literature. Mailer says that Reagan “believes America’s a magical place. And that everything will turn out all right. That’s what they used to tell us in B-movies 50 years ago.”