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The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Norman Mailer in “God’s Attic”: Difference between revisions
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{{byline|last=Kaufmann|first=Donald L.|abstract=An eyewitness to Norman Mailer’s five-day visit to Alaska in 1965 chronicles | {{byline|last=Kaufmann|first=Donald L.|abstract=An eyewitness to Norman Mailer’s five-day visit to Alaska in {{date|1965}} chronicles the details of the only visit Mailer made to Alaska.|url=https://prmlr.us/mr02kau}} | ||
the details of the only visit Mailer made to Alaska.|url=https://prmlr.us/ | |||
{{dc|dc=T|he post-climax of Norman Mailer’s ''An American Dream''}} (1965) features | {{dc|dc=T|he post-climax of Norman Mailer’s ''[[An American Dream]]''}} (1965) features | ||
Stephen Rojack (some might say the author’s virtual alter ego) in the desert, | Stephen Rojack (some might say the author’s virtual alter ego) in the desert, | ||
outside Vegas, in a surreal phone booth, ideal for a celestial call to his dead | outside Vegas, in a surreal phone booth, ideal for a celestial call to his dead | ||
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(Late 1964 was the onset of Mailer’s more distinct political phase. There | (Late 1964 was the onset of Mailer’s more distinct political phase. There | ||
was the earlier [1963] ''The Presidential Papers''. ''Esquire'' [November 1964] published ''In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention''; then the celebrated ''The Armies of the Night'' [1968], culminating in the 1969 Mailer-Breslin ticket in the Democrat Primary for the New York City Mayoralty.) | was the earlier [1963] ''[[The Presidential Papers]]''. ''Esquire'' [November 1964] published ''In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention''; then the celebrated ''[[The Armies of the Night]]'' [1968], culminating in the 1969 Mailer-Breslin ticket in the Democrat Primary for the New York City Mayoralty.) | ||
When the Alaskan offer arrived, Mailer was probably in a high-risk political existential mood. Hence, three stipulations. His counteroffer: “Do the | When the Alaskan offer arrived, Mailer was probably in a high-risk political existential mood. Hence, three stipulations. His counteroffer: “Do the | ||
undoable, or else!” Mailer would visit Alaska only if: | undoable, or else!” Mailer would visit Alaska only if: | ||
* He must be greeted at the Juneau Airport by the governor; | |||
* He must be escorted to the state capitol building and be permitted to address both Houses in session (a real political challenge); | |||
* He must be allowed to attend a Democratic Party caucus meeting. | |||
All these “musts” sounded to Ed and me like a | All these “musts” sounded to Ed and me like a Mailer-esque “Catch-22.” These | ||
details were sent to us by Mailer saying, in essence, that he had vetoed the | details were sent to us by Mailer saying, in essence, that he had vetoed the | ||
visit and was having ''realpolitik'' fun. | visit and was having ''realpolitik'' fun. | ||
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included Mailer attending a meeting of the Democrat Party Caucus (a non-member was usually considered unimportant) which, undoubtedly, made Mailer feel like a real politician. | included Mailer attending a meeting of the Democrat Party Caucus (a non-member was usually considered unimportant) which, undoubtedly, made Mailer feel like a real politician. | ||
The happy endings of those three stipulations continued on into that evening at the governor’s home, where Mr. and Mrs. Egan hosted an unpretentious dinner, which Mailer described as “pleasant.” House Speaker Gravel did | The happy endings of those three stipulations continued on into that evening at the governor’s home, where Mr. and Mrs. Egan hosted an unpretentious dinner, which Mailer described as “pleasant.” House Speaker Gravel did not have to say that Mailer’s Juneau stopover was both political and peaceful. | ||
not have to say that Mailer’s Juneau stopover was both political and peaceful. | |||
Anchorage, the next stop, was no Juneau (the latter, tiny, inaccessible by | Anchorage, the next stop, was no Juneau (the latter, tiny, inaccessible by | ||
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Mailer’s fact-finding quest turned more existential and mystical in Fairbanks. Gone was picturesque and politicized Juneau and would-be urbanized Anchorage. Fairbanks was an oxymoronic microcosm, a “Wilderness City.” | Mailer’s fact-finding quest turned more existential and mystical in Fairbanks. Gone was picturesque and politicized Juneau and would-be urbanized Anchorage. Fairbanks was an oxymoronic microcosm, a “Wilderness City.” | ||
Imagine brand-new real estate next to log cabins, swank motels (two) next to Eskimo strip-joints, a musk ox farm next to a state university, and, the civic eyesore—a mammoth suburban junkyard. And those downtown streets, frequented in summer by overfed tourists and, in winter, by underfed dog packs. A Fairbanks illustrated “city directory” could have been a best seller. Mailer, in three mere days, could not experience all this aberrant | Imagine brand-new real estate next to log cabins, swank motels (two) next to Eskimo strip-joints, a musk ox farm next to a state university, and, the civic eyesore—a mammoth suburban junkyard. And those downtown streets, frequented in summer by overfed tourists and, in winter, by underfed dog packs. A Fairbanks illustrated “city directory” could have been a best seller. Mailer, in three mere days, could not experience all this aberrant Americana. However, he sensed it. | ||
Americana. However, he sensed it. | |||
On the April 4 arrival, Mother Nature had her own welcome mat. Mailer got off Barney Gottstein’s plane and stepped onto snow, compact winter permanent, snow. Spring in Fairbanks happens when the ice-locked Chena and Tanana rivers break and the skies above Creamer Field darken with southern birds. Mailer also experienced more culture shock. That’s what usually happens when a newcomer first breathes in Fairbanks’s super-clean air. Mailer remarked about enhanced visibility. He was ecstatic. “I can’t even breathe in Brooklyn,” he said. | On the April 4 arrival, Mother Nature had her own welcome mat. Mailer got off Barney Gottstein’s plane and stepped onto snow, compact winter permanent, snow. Spring in Fairbanks happens when the ice-locked Chena and Tanana rivers break and the skies above Creamer Field darken with southern birds. Mailer also experienced more culture shock. That’s what usually happens when a newcomer first breathes in Fairbanks’s super-clean air. Mailer remarked about enhanced visibility. He was ecstatic. “I can’t even breathe in Brooklyn,” he said. | ||
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You could become the psychic leader of America, revitalizing all the dead circuits and dead fuses. It is a responsibility Alaskans should face up to.</blockquote> | You could become the psychic leader of America, revitalizing all the dead circuits and dead fuses. It is a responsibility Alaskans should face up to.</blockquote> | ||
Mailer then shifted to “Existential Minorities,” an original offshoot of his | Mailer then shifted to “Existential Minorities,” an original offshoot of his “[[The White Negro]],” and racial strife in that “other” America: | ||
<blockquote>A minority group is caught between two basic conflicts of culture. This conflict has meaning and takes substance only within the minority group, of course, and perhaps you could say that one culture exists within the other culture, creating the conflict. | <blockquote>A minority group is caught between two basic conflicts of culture. This conflict has meaning and takes substance only within the minority group, of course, and perhaps you could say that one culture exists within the other culture, creating the conflict. | ||
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Mailer deftly linked the Two Americas and Alaska’s “divided sense” to similar split- personality situations in rural Lower 48 towns: “In one sense, you feel inferior, and think of yourselves as hicks. You feel a lack of security as inferiors to the big-city sophisticates. Yet, in the other sense, you feel yourself as the “best goddam-people-in-America.” Such was the crux or soul of the Mailer message. I could well imagine the Alaskan psyches a-buzz with becoming either the “very best” or the “very worst.” As for Mailer, there was but one “final adventure.” | Mailer deftly linked the Two Americas and Alaska’s “divided sense” to similar split- personality situations in rural Lower 48 towns: “In one sense, you feel inferior, and think of yourselves as hicks. You feel a lack of security as inferiors to the big-city sophisticates. Yet, in the other sense, you feel yourself as the “best goddam-people-in-America.” Such was the crux or soul of the Mailer message. I could well imagine the Alaskan psyches a-buzz with becoming either the “very best” or the “very worst.” As for Mailer, there was but one “final adventure.” | ||
Yes, with Norman Mailer surprises never end. The farewell bash provided the setting for the second | Yes, with Norman Mailer surprises never end. The farewell bash provided the setting for the second Mailer-esque self-defined moment. The bash itself was anti-climatic. All the “right sorts” appeared: Our mayor (a one-time barber), other community notables, and university people, president included. Even the radical faculty from outlying Dogpatch dropped in. | ||
Expectations were in the air. Ellison, as ever low-keyed and dapper, kept spellbinding his fans. The other guest of honor—as usual, stage center, Irish glint, American drink, pleasantly besieged by well-wishers, and sounding Brooklyn Heights and Provincetown gone native. The bash seemed destined for a peaceable, perhaps merry conclusion. | Expectations were in the air. Ellison, as ever low-keyed and dapper, kept spellbinding his fans. The other guest of honor—as usual, stage center, Irish glint, American drink, pleasantly besieged by well-wishers, and sounding Brooklyn Heights and Provincetown gone native. The bash seemed destined for a peaceable, perhaps merry conclusion. | ||
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“Such hope is ‘all over’ up here.” But I’m glad that Norman Mailer experienced five of its last glory days. | “Such hope is ‘all over’ up here.” But I’m glad that Norman Mailer experienced five of its last glory days. | ||
What remains to be told of “Mailer in Alaska” is my own memory high | What remains to be told of “Mailer in Alaska” is my own memory high spot—and perhaps also was Mailer’s. This experience was truly an epiphany. It occurred above Mount McKinley, at 20,300 feet the highest point in | ||
spot—and perhaps also was Mailer’s. This experience was truly an epiphany. It occurred above Mount McKinley, at 20,300 feet the highest point in | |||
North America. On the Mailer itinerary, this epiphany was the first of two, | North America. On the Mailer itinerary, this epiphany was the first of two, | ||
the latter being the mock fisticuffs during the farewell bash, in the snowy | the latter being the mock fisticuffs during the farewell bash, in the snowy | ||
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During that twenty-minute hello to Denali, I could not foresee Mailer’s | During that twenty-minute hello to Denali, I could not foresee Mailer’s | ||
next novel, ''Why Are We in Vietnam?'' (1967), oddly entitled because the word | next novel, ''[[Why Are We in Vietnam?]]'' (1967), oddly entitled because the word | ||
“Vietnam” appears but once—in the book’s final phrase, “Vietnam, hot | “Vietnam” appears but once—in the book’s final phrase, “Vietnam, hot | ||
dam.” Most of the novel’s “hot dams” took place in Alaska and mostly in | dam.” Most of the novel’s “hot dams” took place in Alaska and mostly in | ||
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{{Review}} | {{Review}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman Mailer in "God's Attic"}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman Mailer in "God's Attic"}} | ||
[[Category:Articles]] | [[Category:Articles]] | ||