Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was born this date -- October 3 -- in 1925. Vidal appeared in Jack Kerouac's The Subterraneans as Arial Lavalina and in Old Angel Midnight as Gore Bedavalled.
Previously, in 2019, we discussed Vidal and Kerouac having a sexual encounter (click HERE) and Jack's opinion of Vidal's writing.
I still haven't read any of Vidal's work. Any suggestions on where to start?
If you get the chance, watch the documentary, Best of Enemies. We saw it at a showing in Portland a few years ago and it's really good. It's about the debate between Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. during the Republican and the Democratic conventions in the summer of 1968. As THIS PBS blurb states, "Best of Enemies reveals the moment TV’s political ambition shifted from narrative to spectacle, forever altering the way the media — and Americans — talked about politics." We're surely watching a spectacle these days.
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mr. Vidal.
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