07.26

“Ancient Evening.” Article by Andrew Hultkrans. ArtForum, 27 April. Account of Mailer receiving the Hadada Award from the Paris Review, presented by E. L. Doctorow. Asked by editor Philip Gourevitch, to define a novel, Mailer said: “A Novel is history.” Actual history books are biased he said, “Histories are made of rotten bricks. Novels lay straw in the mortar.” As for style: “Style covers the waterfront. Style is charm, but it limits the writer’s ability.”