RIP Gore Vidal

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Jack of All Parades
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RIP Gore Vidal

Post by Jack of All Parades »

We lost a major writer and wit earlier today. Gore Vidal, for whatever you might have thought about his politics and stands on social issues, was a master of American prose. I firmly think that he, along with John Updike, Saul Bellow, Phillip Roth and Thomas Pynchon, brought a new life into the American vernacular starting in the middle years of the last century. I was never a big fan of his historical and satirical fiction but I could never get enough of his glittering essays. They are alive with a sparkling wit and delicate touch. He made any issue of the New York Review of Books come alive for me when he appeared in an issue. He may very well have been the best American essay writer of the last 50 years and his lifetime collection United States has pride of place on my shelf. As well, I have many pleasant memories of his TV appearances as a pundit. He could always be counted on to 'stir the pot' and to keep the conversation flowing. His memoirs-Palimpsest - was a hoot to read. Curiously, he was born just down the road and the river on the grounds of the military academy at West Point. Great title for a memoir with its suggestion of continuous erasures.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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migdd
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Re: RIP Gore Vidal

Post by migdd »

Just finished Kalki last week. Vidal indeed had a singular voice and has left behind a wonderful collection of works.

I, for one, will miss him.
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