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The Literary Legacy of Norman Mailer

LIANE HANSEN, Host:

Critic Bill Marx has this appreciation.

BILL MARX: At his best, Mailer was not driven by ego alone. His generation assumed that what novel said had the power to make a difference. Norman Mailer may have abused the privilege, but his career is a valuable reminder of that now anachronistic belief.

HANSEN: Critic Bill Marx teaches contemporary fiction in the writing program at Boston University. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Bill Marx