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The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Norman Mailer in “God’s Attic”: Difference between revisions
The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Norman Mailer in “God’s Attic” (view source)
Revision as of 20:02, 28 September 2020
, 28 September 2020I found and fixed a few typos here.
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undoable, or else!” Mailer would visit Alaska only if: | undoable, or else!” Mailer would visit Alaska only if: | ||
* Bulleted list item | |||
He must be greeted at the Juneau Airport by the governor; | |||
* Bulleted list item | |||
He must be escorted to the state capitol building and be permitted to address both Houses in session (a real political challenge); | |||
* Bulleted list item | |||
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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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 | ||