Mailer, Norman Kingsley

Mailer, Norman Kingsley
▪ 2008
 American novelist and journalist
born Jan. 31, 1923, Long Branch, N.J.

died Nov. 10, 2007, New York, N.Y.
was best known for using a form of journalism—called New Journalism—that combines the imaginative subjectivity of literature with the more objective qualities of journalism. Mailer graduated (1943) from Harvard University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. Drafted into the army in 1944, he served in the Pacific until 1946. While he was enrolled at the Sorbonne, in Paris, he wrote The Naked and the Dead (1948), hailed immediately as one of the finest American novels to come out of World War II. His next important work was a long essay, The White Negro (1957). Mailer's subsequent novels included An American Dream (1965) and Why Are We in Vietnam? (1967). A controversial figure whose egotism and belligerence often antagonized both critics and readers, Mailer did not command the same respect for his fiction that he received for his journalism. The Armies of the Night (1968) was based on the Washington peace demonstrations of October 1967, during which Mailer was jailed and fined for an act of civil disobedience; it won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. Other works in the journalistic vein included Siege of Chicago (1968) and Of a Fire on the Moon (1970). In 1969 Mailer ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New York City. Among his other works were his essay collections The Presidential Papers (1963) and Cannibals and Christians (1966); The Executioner's Song (1979), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel based on the life of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore; and Harlot's Ghost (1991), a novel focusing on the CIA. Mailer's final two novels were The Gospel According to the Son (1997) and The Castle in the Forest (2007). In 2003 Mailer published two works of nonfiction: The Spooky Art and Why Are We at War? On God (2007) recorded conversations about religion between Mailer and scholar Michael Lennon.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Mailer, Norman Kingsley — (1923 2007)    Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and brought up in Brooklyn, New York, Norman Mailer graduated with a B.S. from Harvard in 1943 and was drafted into the army during World War II. The experience he gained during the war in the… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Norman Kingsley Mailer — Norman Mailer Norman Mailer, photographié par Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Norman Kingsley Mailer, né le 31 janvier 1923 à Long Branch dans le New Jersey aux États Unis et mort le 10 novembre  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mailer, Norman — born Jan. 31, 1923, Long Branch, N.J., U.S. U.S. novelist. He studied at Harvard University. He drew on his wartime service in the Pacific for his celebrated novel The Naked and the Dead (1948), which established him as one of the major American… …   Universalium

  • Norman Mailer — photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1948 Born Norman Kingsley Mailer January 31, 1923(1923 01 31) Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S …   Wikipedia

  • Norman Mailer — Norman Mailer, photographié par Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Norman Kingsley Mailer, né le 31 janvier 1923 à Long Branch dans le New Jersey aux États Unis et mort le 10 novembre 2007 à New York, es …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Norman Mailer — Norman Mailer, 1948 Foto: Carl van Vechten Norman Kingsley Mailer (* 31. Januar 1923 in Long Branch, New Jersey; † 10. November 2007 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Norman Mailer — Norman Kingsley Mailer (31 de enero de 1923) es un escritor americano. Norman Mailer nació en una familia judía en Long Branch (New Jersey). Estudió aeronáutica en la universidad de Harvard en 1939. Por esa época comenzó a escribir publicando su… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Norman Mailer — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar al autor …   Wikipedia Español

  • Mailer — /ˈmeɪlə/ (say mayluh) noun Norman Kingsley, 1923–2007, US author, essayist and journalist; novels include The Naked and the Dead (1948) and Harlot s Ghost (1991) …  

  • literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …   Universalium

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