Good morning, everyone,
Out late last night, woke up early, made the usual 3-shot latte and logged onto the Times only to discover that the great Gore Vidal is now the late great Gore Vidal. I cannot add anything to the thorough review of Vidal and his oeuvre in the Times article, so I won’t even try. But I will say that the only solace I take in this news is that it provides noteworthy counterpoint to my post of Monday, about Jonah Lehrer, a man who calls himself a writer, but whose skills are virtually non-existent compared to those of Vidal.
Tough, witty, supremely opinionated (aren’t all the great writers?), more than a little bit aristocratic, sometimes flat out wrong-minded and wrong-headed but always vehemently fearless, Vidal could write about anything, and he did – fiction, nonfiction, essays, plays. (Note: on the subject of that fibber Lehrer, there’s an interesting ditty about Vidal cheating on tests…)
Many people only love writers, filmmakers and artists in general whose work they like, love, identify with, or can supremely champion. But that’s not for me. I don’t always need to agree with an artist’s work, and can appreciate the passion, enthusiasm and rigor that went into it. Words on paper are not always meant to please. They can often be meant to examine, to question, to demand, to stir up, to rile, and all of those things Vidal did in spades.
His lifetime literary output was truly staggering. For me, perhaps even more than reading him, I relished watching interviews with him, and his sparring matches with William F. Buckley are the stuff of legend. There was a deep intellect there, a curiosity, a ravenous appetite for culture, politics. The man knew who he was. And at the end of his life, after all those books and essays and words, so did everyone else.
For the curious, here’s the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal.
It’s pouring in New York City. Have a good day, everyone.
Giselle
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/books/gore-vidal-elegant-writer-dies-at-86.html?_r=1&hp
August 1, 2012 at 11:44 am
I was shocked, I do have one of his books for sale..
August 1, 2012 at 11:45 am
During the day (her in Australia) the reports were cagey, “it is being reported” although I knew what it meant there was still an element of vague hope.
August 1, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Genius!
August 1, 2012 at 12:48 pm
I remember the civil and intelligent discourse that was Firing Line. I always had a mixed feeling of being attracted to the mode and depth of Buckley’s conversations while not being quite comfortable with the positions being taken. Similarly, Mr. Vidal’s body of work is filled with insightful critiques that are mostly delightful, but sometimes disconcerting. I vaguely remember the war between the two, but the Wikipeida article paints it as a more personal battle than I usually associate with either man.
August 1, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Great post , Giselle Minoli . Thanks, my friend.
August 1, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Saw an amazing interview he did with David Dimbleby of the BBC when Obama was elected. Prickly old bugger he was, but very interesting.
August 2, 2012 at 1:32 am
Bill Abrams Funny how some extremely bright people (William Buckley) can have such a hard time seeing straight sometimes. And funny how some other extremely bright people (Vidal) can step over the boundaries themselves. What’s that saying? Even a Rolls Royce has a blind spot? No matter the price tag or this aristocratic heritage, blind is blind, and it comes in all packages, all races, all religions, all metiers…and all political parties.
August 2, 2012 at 1:34 am
Gary Stockton he was prickly. So was Mailer and so was Capote. Sort of the Marx Brothers of literature. Capote and Mailer have been gone for a while and this rather closes a chapter I think.
I don’t know that David Dimbleby interview. I will look for it on YouTube…
August 2, 2012 at 1:36 am
Matthew Graybosch you should, really…he’s as prickly and opinionated and cantankerous an as smart as you. Almost. 😉
I saw Caligula, too, when it first came out in New York. Stunned to discover he’d written it. But then again he was out there and, looking back on it…of course he did. Disconnecting himself from it was rather hilarious. I mean, what did he think? It was an episode of Monty Python or something?
August 2, 2012 at 1:50 am
Giselle Minoli I think by “funny” you meant how WB Jr. couldn’t see anything but “straight.”
Perhaps it is the aristocratic background that I respond to in both these gentlemen. I did not come from that and am possibly blind to any downsides it comes with.
My general impression of both men however, was that they mostly discoursed and disagreed with elegance, grace, and erudition. I aspire to that. I read about their incredible antipathy for each other following their participation in a presidential election and vaguely remember it, but it doesn’t shake my esteem for a style that has largely vanished from mainstream media.
Well, except for NASCAR, which some people watch for the possibility of a crash like I watched Firing Line for the possibility of WB Jr. leaning back just a little too far and finally succumbing to the forces of gravity. I remember emulating his seating style as a child at dinner. much to my parents distress 🙂
August 2, 2012 at 1:58 am
Bill Abrams I know what you mean. There is an “art” to arguing artfully, rather than brutishly. Both men were exceedingly intelligent and articulate. There is little, if any, sparring of that kind going on now. If there is, please tell me between whom! However, Christopher Buckley seems to be nothing like his father, no matter what he says. Clearly there was a lot to rebel against there.
August 2, 2012 at 2:48 am
Here you go Matthew Graybosch: William F. Buckley vs. Gore Vidal (5 of 5) There are a series of these…this is one of the more infamous. But they are all fabulous in their own way. There are scores of Vidal Videos on YouTube. Have fun my friend!
August 2, 2012 at 3:32 am
Giselle Minoli here is a link to that interview. Gore Vidal versus David Dimbleby
August 2, 2012 at 11:08 am
Thank you Gary Stockton. I shall watch it!
August 10, 2012 at 12:05 am
To your BEST, Giselle !
August 10, 2012 at 2:04 am
And to you Carol Cadenas.