An American Dream Expanded/Publishers Weekly March 22, 1965: Difference between revisions

{{notice|From {{cite news |last= |first=|date=March 15, 1965 |title=Author's League Panel: Book Reviews and Reviewers|url= |work=Publisher's Weekly |location=New York, NY|page=44-45 |access-date=|ref=harv}}Excerpt from a panel discussion at the ''Authors League of America'' held on March 9, 1965, where Mailer airs his views on reviewers and in turn, reviewers cross-examine Mailer.}}

Mailer, whose first novel in nine years, ''[[An American Dream]]'' was published by ''Dial Press'', on March 15, opened the final portion of the March 10 press conference for authors by saying, candidly, “Four years’ ago my life went out of control for a time. Once you become notorious your personality takes on a legendary quality. I am more and more surprised by what I am supposed to have done in the last two years.”

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Mr. Mailer was not loath to give his opinion of the NBA-winner, “Herzog,” as a novel or Saul Bellow as a writer, however. And what he had to say (page 30) demonstrated neatly the Mailer Dictum that “novelists left to themselves almost always welcome vicious gossip-mongers, so the only alternative is to air your differences publicly and ventilate the air.”

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In his own writing, Norman Mailer said, eh tries never to introduce an abstract idea unless it is necessary. “Any intellectual discussion you can take out, should be taken out.” He suggested as a working principle that a novelist should never put into his work what any other novelist would write.

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Mr. Mailer, talking about ''An American Dream,''  said that while it was substantially complete as originally written for ''Esquire'' in a series of monthly installments, adding up to eight chapters, he had worked on it extensive for style “and toning” before its publication in book form and “I really think it is a better book now.”