Gore Vidal’s memorial service was held yesterday at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in Manhattan and was attended by many notables.  “The New York Times” account of the service points up his wide variety of friends, from theatre types to writers.  It’s fun to read how these people chose to memorialize their eccentric friend.

Another account of the memorial from the online news blog “The Daily Beast” is more in the spirit of this great man.  This account is clever, straightforward, and edgy.  For example the description of Dick Cavette: “Dick Cavett presided with that strange, weirdly charming affect that is peculiarly his—part reflexive TV host … and part self-aware personality at war with his own slickness.”

A Catalan friend of mine, who attended a Gore Vidal talk in Barcelona, was shocked to hear Mr. Vidal speak so disparagingly of the United States.  Guess he might have been “taking America to task for needless wars, a bloated military-industrial complex and political hypocrisy” as Charles McGrath of the NYT described Mr. Vidal’s writing.

To discover or enjoy again the Gore Vidal “usual acerbic, witty and elegant self” (Charles McGrath of the NYT) through JMRL’s collections search the JMRL online catalog for “Vidal, Gore” as author, search “Gore Vidal” as keyword to get library material about him.

~ The Reluctant Blogger