03.13

“Fighting Words: Scrappy as Ever at 80, Norman Mailer Takes on Bush and War with Iraq.” Article-interview by Heidi Benson. San Francisco Chronicle, 25 February, D1, D8. Account of a Q and A after a Mailer speech before the Commonwealth Club at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Mailer’s theme is that Bush needs a war “as a steppingstone away from our problems.” He also discussed literary matters: “Publishing is absolutely addicted to best-sellers, more than ever before. And best-selling books are the enemy of good literature.” See 03.20.