Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer (1923-2007) was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Harvard during World War II, he served in the Philippines and Japan, an experience that formed the basis of his famous literary debut, "The Naked and the Dead," in 1948. As one of the authors who significantly shaped American culture, Norman Mailer wrote over 40 books, some of which became iconic, such as "The Naked and the Dead" and "The Deer Park" (1955). However, he was often labeled the "enfant terrible" of American literature because his books, essays, style, and positions frequently sparked reactions and provoked the public. On one hand, he openly opposed the pro-war stance of some segments of American society that supported the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, while on the other hand, his works filled with violence and sexual obsessions particularly provoked feminists like Germaine Greer and Kate Millett, who considered him the epitome of phallocentrism. He also did not maintain good relations with contemporary authors such as Truman Capote, William Styron, and Tom Wolfe, and once even came to blows with Gore Vidal. Besides his books, Norman Mailer directed four films and co-founded the well-known alternative New York newspaper, "Village Voice," in 1955. Among his most notable works are "Barbary Shore" (1951), "An American Dream" (1964), "The Armies of the Night" (1968), a chronicle of the major demonstration at the Pentagon in 1967 against the Vietnam War, for which he was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, "Marilyn" (1973), "The Executioner's Song" (1980), inspired by the execution of death row inmate Gary Gilmore in Utah, also a Pulitzer Prize winner, "Ancient Evenings" (1983), "Tough Guys Don't Dance" (1984), "Harlot's Ghost" (1991), and "The Gospel According to the Son" (1998). A "summary" of his work titled "The Time of our Time" was published in the U.S. in 1999. Between 1984-1986, he served as president of the American Writers and Poets Association (PEN). He passed away in New York on November 10, 2007, at the age of 84, from renal failure following a decline in health due to surgery he underwent in October.