Norman Mailer: Works and Days

Reflections on Hipsterism

A published exchange on "The White Negro" (57.1): critiques by Jean Malaquais and Ned Polsky, with Mailer's counterpoint. The most common reprint companion to The White Negro.

“Reflections on Hipsterism.” Dissent 5 (winter 1958), 73–81.

A response to “The White Negro” (57.1) by Jean Malaquais and Ned Polsky, printed with Mailer’s counterpoint defending and extending his account of the hipster.

Rpt: as “Reflections on Hip” in 59.8a and in Advertisements for Myself (59.13).

First published: 1958
Form: essay
Lennon & Lennon: 58.1
Cite as: /works/1958-winter-reflections-on-hipsterism
Last updated: 2026-05-23