On the State of Mailer Studies

A Conversation with J. Michael Lennon

Authors

  • Phillip Sipiora University of South Florida Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.68910/jydg4y18

Keywords:

interview, J. Michael Lennon, Mailer studies, literary archives, digital humanities

Abstract

In this conversation, first published in 2019, Phillip Sipiora talks with J. Michael Lennon, Mailer’s authorized biographer and longtime friend, about the state of Mailer studies. Lennon recalls Mailer’s work ethic and how he cultivated being both an insider and an outsider. He also traces his own path from correspondent to archivist and describes the Mailer collections at the Harry Ransom Center and Wilkes University. The two discuss digitization and Project Mailer, the Library of America editions as a sign of Mailer’s place in the canon, and recent scholarship and the work still to be done.

Author Biography

  • Phillip Sipiora, University of South Florida

    Phillip Sipiora is Professor of English at the University of South Florida and the founding editor of The Mailer Review. A scholar of rhetoric and of twentieth-century American literature, he has edited several collections and guided two decades of Mailer scholarship through the journal he founded.

The Mailer Review v.16: 20 Years of the Review

Downloads

Published

2026-11-04

Issue

Vol. 16 (2026): Special Edition: 20 Years of the Review

Section

V. Voice and Encounter: Interviews and Conversations

How to Cite

Sipiora, Phillip. “On the State of Mailer Studies: A Conversation With J. Michael Lennon”. The Mailer Review, vol. 16, no. 1, Nov. 2026, pp. 195–210, https://doi.org/10.68910/jydg4y18.