If Fred McDarrah was the eyes<\/a> for the Voice, Norman Mailer would have been the eyebrow<\/strong> and the brain<\/strong> for the Voice. Norman Mailer who co-founded the Village Voice passed away following the death of the Voice Photographer Fred McDarrah. <\/p>\n Obit by David Wiegand<\/a> (SF Gate), Obit by Louis Menand<\/a> of the Newyorker. BBC here<\/a>, Villagevoice here.<\/a><\/p>\n Mailer as Houdini Mathew Barney spoke of Mailer, Gary Gilmore and Houdini.<\/p>\n Well, I think what Norman Mailer’s book The Executioner’s Song does so elegantly is it describes the psychological state that landscape creates. <\/p>\n I think he has (qualities) not so different from this idea of Houdini having himself chained and locked and blindfolded and thrown in a box and this is the procedure to make a light, creative gesture. There’s a brutality in there that appeals to me in the same way. There’s a brutality and a physicality… that combination of accuracy and speed and violence. (Read more here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Mailer on reincarnation<\/p>\n You believe in reincarnation. So what are you coming back as? My country is my spiritual wife and I lost respect for her. (Mailer on Youtube<\/strong> with French subtitle)<\/a><\/p>\n Mailer and his perfectionism – the sound of punching himself to eternity. Tough Guys – Nostalgia<\/a> <\/p>\n Cinematic Life of Norman Mailer<\/a> (Harvard Films Archive)<\/p>\n Mr. Tendentious <\/a> and his enemies.<\/p>\n The last word was reserved for Andy Warhol: ‘I always thought Norman kept a low profile, that’s what I liked about him. (via greencinedaily<\/a> also from Norman Mailer writes his own Obituary<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mutanteggplant.com\/vitro-nasu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/1aaanorman-mailer-e-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-631779-e1548968861676.jpg\")
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\nNorman Mailer, who mythified Gilmore in his best-selling book The Executioner’s Song, plays the escapologist Harry Houdini. (Mathew B. plays Gary Gilmore in his Cremaster 2.<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\nWell, I\u2019m waiting, right? I\u2019m in the waiting room. And finally my name is called. I go in and there\u2019s a monitoring angel who says, Mr Mailer, we\u2019re very glad to meet you. The good news is you\u2019ve been passed for reincarnation. I say, Oh thank you, I really didn\u2019t want to go into eternal peace. And the monitoring angel says, Well, between us, it isn\u2019t really necessarily eternal peace. It can be a little hectic. Let me see, before I look and see what we\u2019ve got you down for, we always ask people, What would you like to be in your next life? And I say, Well, I think I\u2019d like to be a black athlete. I don\u2019t care where you put me, I\u2019ll take my chances, but yes, that\u2019s what I want to be, a black athlete.
\nAnd the monitoring angel says, Listen, Mailer, we\u2019re so oversubscribed in that department. Everybody wants to be a black athlete in their next life. Let me see what we\u2019ve got you booked for. So he opens the big book, looks, and says, Well, we\u2019ve got you down for a cockroach. But here\u2019s the good news: you\u2019ll be the fastest cockroach<\/strong> on the block. (From here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n