Letter to George Lea (17 March 1964)

Norman Mailer's Letters on An American Dream, 1963–1969, ed. J. Michael Lennon (Sligo Press, 2004); transcription via the An American Dream Expanded digital edition (Project Mailer).

Dear George,¹

Thanks for your letter. It was practically inspirational, old buck. Actually, I feel very far from being a citizen of the world these days. There’s something about trying to do a novel in eight months which overcomes all the outposts of one’s ego, so that you recoil back on the thing you can do reasonably well, which is to be some kind of half-ass professional. So I don’t feel important these days, I just feel wrung out, worn down, near to written out, scared, like a semi-final fighter at the end of six rounds with two big ones to go. You know what I mean.

If you get a chance, drop me a line about the novel you’re working on, and what it’s about.

Work: Letter to George Lea (17 March 1964)
Part 28 of 77 of Norman Mailer's Letters on An American Dream, 1963–1969
Source: Norman Mailer's Letters on An American Dream, 1963–1969, ed. J. Michael Lennon (Sligo Press, 2004); transcription via the An American Dream Expanded digital edition (Project Mailer).
Rights: cleared
Last updated: 2026-10-24