Gore Vidal, writing in the Times in 1987 (’Italian genius: put it down to curiosity’, 17 November):
In journalism, Italians are perhaps more politicized than their English or American counterparts. But then they have more politics. On the other hand, as they have no class war to write about, they are obliged to fill their columns with reports of the arts around the world.
Why in the world would you quote something from 21 years ago and accuse the writer of being an idiot? Do you assume that Vidal would say the same thing today?
Gore Vidal is many, many things (political and social analyst, novelist, essayist, philosopher, humorist, etc). But I suspect you stand alone, even among his enemies, in calling him an idiot.
Link | August 31st, 2008 at 12:10 am
Yes, that was too harsh. What I should have said is this: I like Gore Vidal’s novels (even the hokey ones, like Kalki). I think he is a provocative essayist. But, based on this (and other) comments, he has a propensity – like that other provocative essayist Christopher Hitchens – to say some things which are profoundly stupid, and/or lack any basis in fact. (But of course, this is too long to fit in the title of a blog post).
Link | August 31st, 2008 at 11:08 am
Thanks for that retraction. From Vidal’s perspective in 1987 (an American perspective), the comment was probably not so profoundly stupid as ou think it was.
I’d also argue that Hitchens is more deliberately provocative than Vidal; I’d also argue that Hitchens is wrong far more often.
Link | August 31st, 2008 at 10:42 pm