Norman Mailer: Works and Days

Modes and Mutations: Quick Comments on the Modern American Novel

Mailer's most considered overview of American literature, first presented at the December 1965 MLA meeting in Chicago. Reprinted, slightly revised, as "The Argument Reinvigorated" in Cannibals and Christians.

An essay containing Mailer’s most considered overview of American literature, first presented at the December 1965 Modern Language Association meeting in Chicago. Rpt: slightly revised as “The Argument Reinvigorated” in Cannibals and Christians (66.11) and in The American Novel Since World War II, ed. Marcus Klein (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett, 1969); 13.1.

First published: 1966-03
Form: essay
Lennon & Lennon: 66.5
Cite as: /works/1966-03-modes-and-mutations
Last updated: 2026-05-30