John J. Lennon
The Murderer, the Writer, the Reckoning
At Jack Abbott’s trial, Norman Mailer pleaded with the press. “At least let Abbott become a writer.” Then he said, “a democracy involves taking risks.” Reading this made me feel envious, and a bit confused. Wasn’t the idea to reaffirm literature itself, in Mailer’s words, “as a human expression that will survive all obstacles”?
July 9, 2019