Happy Birthday Gore Vidal + Advice for Writers

 Happy birthday to Gore Vidal! The American writer who was famous for his essays, novels, screenplays and witty sayings was born on this day in 1925. Considered the Oscar Wilde of the 20th century, he shaped American public discourse through his lifelong criticism of the country's foreign policy and sharp cultural commentary, and also ran for public office twice.
Vidal was famous for his hilarious one-liners. After an alleged altercation with fellow writer Norman Mailer during the taping of a TV show, Vidal was asked by a journalist what comment he had about Mailer's head-butting him backstage. His response? "Once again, words failed Norman Mailer." Watch Gore Vidal discussing his writing career in an interview with Jay Parini: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bIk0JNAsqg Vidal won the 1993 National Book Award for his book United States: Essays, 1952 - 1992. He passed away on July 31, 2012. Click here to discover titles by Gore Vidal in the ZODML Catalogue, all of which are available to borrow at our Community Library.