[Norman Mailer, from Exit Ghost]

Abstract

Editor’s Note: These words are those of a character in Philip Roth’s novel, Exit Ghost. The reference is to a memorial service at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine for George Plimpton on November 19, 2003. Norman Mailer offered words of praise of Plimpton as a literary gentleman, wit, and creator of one of the most important literary journals of the past century. “The mark of a gentleman,” said Mailer “is to inspire love in people who hardly know him.”