A reader writes:
I enjoyed your mixed appreciation of Vidal, as it mirrors my own ambivalence with regards to the quality of his work frequently failing to match his considerable talent. I also loathed his relentless name-dropping. Especially frustrating was his insistence on approaching homosexuality as a cultural anomaly even as it continued to encroach on the mainstream of American life. That said, I was struck by this quote of his I ran across online this morning after reading of his passing:
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
Another writes:
I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Vidal's historical novels. When Lincoln came out in paperback, I read about a fourth of it, then, having found so many errors, returned to the beginning and marked my editorial revisions right on the pages of the book. I sent it to Random House, they forwarded it on to Vidal, and Vidal sent me a (barely decipherable) letter on fine blue stationery from his villa in Italy. It was a lament over the state of publishing in the 20th century. He even took the time to explain some of his literary and stylistic choices (with which, he noted, others had taken issue).
"I sent your comments on to Random House," he wrote. "Who knows?" I never heard from Random House, but I treasure the blue letter in its hand-addressed envelope.
I would have read Lincoln anyway, because it was, to me, a definitive history of that era, and I’ve never forgotten Vidal’s point of view and his compassion toward his characters.
The Dish 