The Mailer Review/Volume 13, 2019/Reflections

for us, as it has been for so
many others. The national emergency quickly closed down our university
and the change in instruction from on-site to remote, of course, dramatically
affected everyone. The normal rhythms of Review activities were significantly
altered since there was no access to our offices, scheduling/receiving
deliveries, mailing copies of the Review, etc. However, our staff continued
to work at home putting together Volume 13, and we expect to follow the
same pattern for Volume 14, which we expect to publish in November 2020.
We were graciously given permission by the Mailer Estate to publish an
important short story by Norman , “The Last Night,” which was first
published in Esquire in December 1963. It was the last short story that Mailer
published in his lifetime and much credit goes to Michael Shuman for richly
contextualizing Mailer’s science fiction in this issue. As our readers know,
we have published several selections of early fiction by Norman Mailer in recent
issues and we hope that these resources will encourage scholars to take
a fresh look at his early work which, I believe, foreshadows, in strategic ways,
his mature fiction.
Our readers are keenly interested in the quickly evolving nature of
Mailer Studies and we are grateful to J. Michael Lennon for contributing
an extensive interview chronicling strategic developments in Mailer Studies,
identifying current trends and, perhaps most important, providing a
glimpse into the immediate future of Mailer research with important implications.
Professor Lennon’s interview is a rich source of insights and information.
We are pleased to publish an excerpt from Bonnie Culver’s play,
NORRIS, which focuses on the life of Norris Church Mailer, and is scheduled
for opening in California when medical conditions permit. The production
will star Anne Archer and subsequent performances are planned in London
and then New York City.
In this issue, Robert Begiebing examines the synergistic contributions of
Joseph Ellis and Norman Mailer in addressing the nourishing of American
democracy. Raymond Vince contributes a penetrating comparative examination
of works by Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Mailer as he examines dimensions
of personal and cultural angst as rich creative fibers, released in
powerful fictive representations by these canonical authors. These two explorations
are a timely harbinger of our developing series exploring Mailer’s
connections, literary and otherwise, to other major figures. We plan to include
comparative interpretive readings in future issues as yet another way
of looking at Mailer’s work through the larger prism of inherited literary
and critical contexts as well as authorial legacies. T.S. Eliot’s classical essay,
“Tradition and the Individual Talent,” is a germane theoretical infrastructure
for this series.
The Review has always valued our section of creative work and this issue
is no exception. Karen Brown once again graces our pages with a powerful
tale of gripping relationships, tensely unfolding over time. Robert Guffey
masterfully creates a surreal crime drama, inscribing his narrative with a
wry sense of humor as he delves into the incongruity of mundane events.
Richard Schreck gives us a glimpse into his novel, Brain Game. Further, we
are pleased to publish crisp, cogent poetry by Gary D. Rhodes and Sal Cetrano,
reflective artists who offer us penetrating explorations into inner folds
of human experience.
When this volume was in press, we were shocked to learn of the sudden
passing of Chris Busa, a Norman Mailer Society board member and Founding
Editor of the Provincetown Arts Magazine for thirty-five years. Chris will
be remembered in the pages of Volume 14.
Sadly, last year we experienced the loss of a cherished member of The
Norman Mailer Society as Wilbur F. Hayes passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 10,
2019. Wilber joined the Biology department at Wilkes University in 1967 and
remained a Professor of Biology at Wilkes until 2019, enhancing the lives of
his students and colleagues for more than four decades in a very distinguished
career. Wilbur was a spirited participant at our annual Mailer Society
meetings and his presence and valuable contributions enriched our
gatherings. I am saddened to know that I will not engage with him at future
conferences. Wilbur always had something to say that was interesting and
thought provoking. We will truly miss Wilbur’s cheerful and insightful participation.
I would like to welcome a new editor to our staff, Gary D. Rhodes, an internationally acclaimed film scholar with approximately two dozen books to
his credit. Professor Rhodes’ extensive body of work includes several cogent
articles on Norman Mailer’s cinema. Welcome aboard, Gary!
Category:Editorials
Category:Written by Phillip Sipiora