Archives

  • 15th Anniversary Issue
    Vol. 15 No. 1 (2021)

    Volume 15, Number 1 (Fall 2021) of The Mailer Review offers a rich collection of scholarly articles, personal memoirs, and creative works that explore the multifaceted legacy of Norman Mailer. Edited by Phillip Sipiora, this issue marks a significant moment in Mailer studies, coinciding with the publication of several major books on the author and looking forward to his 2023 centenary.

    The volume features a diverse range of scholarly explorations and miscellany, including:

    Literary Intersections: A previously unpublished 1988 interview with Mailer provides deep insights into his complex relationship and friendship with James Baldwin. Robert J. Begiebing presents a creative “interview” between Mailer and Walt Whitman on the tenets of American democracy, while Lawrence R. Broer compares the existential quests of Mailer and Jack Kerouac.

    Thematic Analyses: Jason Mosser examines the evolution of the “White Negro” from Mailer’s hipsters to Hunter S. Thompson’s bikers, and Raymond M. Vince continues a study on the elusiveness of myth and skepticism in Mailer and Joseph Conrad.

    Fictional Foundations: This issue provides a special focus on Mailer’s early work, with Phillip Sipiora analyzing early short fiction like “Love-Buds” and Gerald R. Lucas examining transitional stories from 1951–52 that acted as a proving ground for later subversive ideas.

    Memoirs and Reflections: Barbara Mailer Wasserman shares a poignant excerpt from her memoir, Love of My Life, recounting a memorable dinner in Maine, and J. Michael Lennon offers a commentary on the contrasting romanticisms of Mailer and Joan Didion.

    Creative and Dramatic Works: The collection includes “A Parley in Brooklyn,” a closet drama by Peter Lennon imagining a conversation between Mailer and Thomas Hardy, alongside an extensive selection of poetry and creative prose from twenty contributors.

    In addition to its original articles, the volume serves as a critical resource through its comprehensive book review section, which covers new biographies of Philip Roth and James Baldwin, as well as works on cinema and trauma. It also contains a classic interpretation of The Executioner’s Song by Robert Merrill and the updated Norman Mailer bibliography for 2020.

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

    Volume 2 of The Mailer Review (Fall 2008) is a landmark memorial issue published in the immediate aftermath of Norman Mailer’s death in November 2007. Centered on the Carnegie Hall celebration of Mailer’s life, the volume brings together tributes, reflections, and remarks by writers, critics, family members, and public figures including Don DeLillo, Günter Grass, William Kennedy, Tina Brown, and members of the Mailer family. Alongside this extensive commemorative section, the issue includes critical essays that reassess Mailer’s major works and political legacy, establishing The Mailer Review’s dual mission as both a scholarly forum and an enduring record of Mailer’s cultural significance.

  • Inaugural Issue
    Vol. 1 No. 1 (2007)

    Volume One (Fall 2007) of The Mailer Review inaugurates the journal as the central scholarly forum for the study of Norman Mailer’s life, work, and cultural legacy. Bringing together archival discoveries, critical essays, keynote reflections, review essays, and curated visual materials, the volume establishes the Review’s commitment to methodological range and intellectual seriousness. Highlights include Robert F. Lucid’s biographical essay on Mailer’s formative experience at Boston State Hospital, an unpublished 1942 dramatic excerpt related to The Naked and the Dead, major critical engagements with The Executioner’s Song and The Castle in the Forest, and essays drawing on the Harry Ransom Center’s Mailer archive. The volume concludes with a substantial supplemental bibliography, positioning Volume One not only as a landmark issue but as an indispensable foundation for future Mailer scholarship.