Norman Mailer: Works and Days

Mr. Mailer Interviews Himself

Mailer's catechetical self-interview accompanying the publication of Why Are We in Vietnam?; reprinted as "An Imaginary Interview."

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A catechetical self-interview accompanying the publication of Why Are We in Vietnam? (67.15). Mailer says 67.15 “has its roots in Cannibals and Christians” (66.11) and links the total warfare of Ulysses S. Grant with modern science’s “gross methods of experimentation,” describing the novel’s style as “Joyce gone hip,” a “pure American” style. Rpt: as “An Imaginary Interview” in 72.7, 82.19, A Fragment From Vietnam (85.11), 88.6.

First published: 1967-09-17
Form: interview
Lennon & Lennon: 67.16
Cite as: /works/1967-09-17-mr-mailer-interviews-himself
Last updated: 2026-05-30