Battles for Regard, Writerly and Otherwise

Abstract

Hemingway was Mailer’s Oedipal father, the elder to look up, to imitate, and to destroy. No one ever accused Mailer of lockjaw, but did he not also campaign to become the personality of his time as writer, political commentator, candidate for office, and—that role he mocks Hemingway for—celebrity? His style as a mature writer was not Hemingway’s—it was not sparse—but his style as a self-campaigner certainly outdid his model. In that regard, he was a champ.