He Was a Fighter

Boxing in Norman Mailer’s Life and Work

Authors

  • Barry H. Leeds Central Connecticut State University Author

Keywords:

boxing, violence and masculinity, existentialism, literary journalism, The Fight, An American Dream, moral courage

Abstract

Boxing has provided a significant moral paradigm throughout much of Norman Mailer’s life and work. Mailer’s significant writing about boxing begins with The Presidential Papers in the long and riveting essay entitled “Death,” originally titled “Ten Thousand Words a Minute,” one of his “Big Bite” columns for Esquire. Not only does this piece prefigure and announce the new mode of Mailer’s nonfiction writing in the late 1960s and 1970s, notably The Armies of the Night, it is the key to his fascination with boxing.

Author Biography

  • Barry H. Leeds, Central Connecticut State University

    Barry H. Leeds is CSU Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Central Connecticut State University. His books include The Structured Vision of Norman Mailer (NYU Press, 1969) and The Enduring Vision of Norman Mailer (PBS, 2002). He is Vice President of The Norman Mailer Society and a member of the Editorial Board of The Mailer Review.

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Published

2026-02-10

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2008): In Memorium

Section

Articles