Gore Vidal – Writer Against the Grain (Paper) - Softcover

Parini, Jay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231072090 ISBN 13: 9780231072090

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1994

Synopsis

Gore Vidal, known for such best-sellers as The City and the Pillar, Burr, Lincoln, and Myra Breckinridge, is a household name. The controversial Vidal ran for Congress in 1960, and set sparks flying with his public debates challenging William F. Buckley and Norman Mailer. Although one of America's most admired and prolific writers, Vidal has been steadfastly ignored or impugned by many critics. This is partly owing to the vast scope of his writings, which include more than twenty novels, half a dozen plays, dozens of screenplays, countless essays and book reviews, political commentary, and short stories; how do the critics approach such a writer? There has also been backlash against Vidal, whose radical polemics and undisguised contempt for those whom he has called "the hacks and hicks of academe" have hardly endeared him to the critical establishment.Gore Vidal: Writer Against the Grain is the first collection of critical essays to approach this important American writer in an attempt to rectify the unwarranted underestimation of his work. Jay Parini has drawn from the best of previously published criticism and commissioned fresh articles by leading contemporary critics to construct a comprehensive portrait of Vidal's multifaceted and memorable career. Writers as diverse as Harold Bloom, Stephen Spender, Catharine R. Stimpson, Richard Poirier, and Italo Calvino examine Vidal's work in their own highly individual ways, and each finds a different Vidal to celebrate, chide, recollect, or view close up. Also included is a recent interview with Parini in which Vidal discusses his career and his troubled relationship with the reviewers.The Vidal that finally emerges from these essays is a writer of undeniable weight and importance. As readers will agree, Gore Vidal: Writer Against the Grain establishes his rightful role as one of the premier novelists and leading critical observers of this century.

About this title

Review:

For students and scholars, this annotated bibliography contains a comprehensive listing of works by and about writer Gore Vidal (b. 1925), covering his entire career as well as translations of his works. Listings include books, periodicals, plays, teleplays, screenplays, adaptations, book reviews, and other criticism. In addition, unpublished works, interviews, and websites are listed. Items are arranged chronologically by date of first publication. The three indexes are organized by names, titles by Vidal, and periodicals. Reference and Research Book News, November 2007 This extensive, comprehensive reference is long overdue. This is a crucial reference for collections in American studies, media studies, gay studies, or journalism. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. CHOICE ...anyone planning to do research on Gore Vidal should have access to this volume. American Reference Books Annual, March 2008 ...this will be very useful for anyone searching for information about Vidal; recommended... Library Journal, 10/1/2007 Sets a new standard, a new benchmark for scholars to aim at...The layout and guidance to this bibliography is admirably clear and there is an excellent introduction for those of us who need an outline to the complexity of Vidal's work. Reference Reviews

Synopsis:

This collection of critical essays approaches the American writer and attempts to rectify the underestimation of his work. Jay Parini has drawn from the best of previously published criticism and commissioned fresh articles by leading contemporary critics - Catharine R. Stimpson, Harold Bloom, Italo Calvino, among others - to construct a comprehensive portrait of Vidal's career. The collection also includes a recent interview with Parini in which Vidal candidly discusses his career as well as his troubled relationship with the reviewers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0231072090
• ISBN 13: 9780231072090
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 332