I have to admit that besides his existence in the world, I know literally nothing about Gore Vidal. I can say with some assurance that I am not alone among my peers in this. Yet I see that he's "America's great man of letters"?
Daniel, knowing nothing about Gore is a very good start. The opening sentence of The City and the Pillar is great: "The moment was gone." It's all down hill from there. (I think that's the opening line; I'm relying on memory.)
Hi Daniel, I think I've mentioned here that I became aware of him when I was in high school and he was a regular on the Jack Paar Show (later the Tonight Show). He was then known mostly for his play Visit to a Small Planet and later for another play, The Best Man. He seemed terribly full of himself (a kind of un-ironic Bill Buckley - I later got to know Buckley, an extremely nice man who, in real life, never took himself seriously). I have never heard anyone describe Vidal as nice - I seem to recall Truman Capote has much to say on the subject. None of which says anything about his writing. I happen to think that the writing is mostly surface polish, which may be why the Brits like him
I have to admit that besides his existence in the world, I know literally nothing about Gore Vidal. I can say with some assurance that I am not alone among my peers in this. Yet I see that he's "America's great man of letters"?
ReplyDeleteDaniel, knowing nothing about Gore is a very good start. The opening sentence of The City and the Pillar is great: "The moment was gone." It's all down hill from there. (I think that's the opening line; I'm relying on memory.)
ReplyDelete"THE MOMENT WAS STRANGE."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400030378&view=excerpt
Thank you, Dave. "The moment was strange" is it.
ReplyDeleteNow now boys: never good to be ignorant. I was just surprised at how highly he is thought of by the Brits / the older set.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI think I've mentioned here that I became aware of him when I was in high school and he was a regular on the Jack Paar Show (later the Tonight Show). He was then known mostly for his play Visit to a Small Planet and later for another play, The Best Man. He seemed terribly full of himself (a kind of un-ironic Bill Buckley - I later got to know Buckley, an extremely nice man who, in real life, never took himself seriously). I have never heard anyone describe Vidal as nice - I seem to recall Truman Capote has much to say on the subject. None of which says anything about his writing. I happen to think that the writing is mostly surface polish, which may be why the Brits like him
Some in the U.S. like him, too, Here, for example, is Bill Kauffman's take on the essays of the "The last Republican":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/aug/25/00029/
Buckley disliking him is the highest praise of Gore I've yet heard!
ReplyDelete