Norman Mailer has died at age 84.
The cause was reported as renal failure, though he also had lung surgery last month.
The leads from various obituaries:
“Norman Mailer, the macho prince of American letters who for decades reigned as the country’s literary conscience and provocateur with such books as ‘The Naked and the Dead’…” (Associated Press)
“Norman Mailer, the prolific writer whose public brawls and macho swagger often overshadowed his Pulitzer Prize-winning prose that challenged society’s views of politics and sex…” (Bloomberg)
“Norman Mailer, one of the last surviving literary lions to roar out of World War II…” (USA Today)
“Norman Mailer, the pugnacious two-times Pulitzer Prize winner who was a dominating presence on the U.S. literary scene across seven decades…” (Reuters)
“Norman Mailer, who co-founded The Village Voice 52 years ago, and whose walloping roundhouses, arrogant, despairing egocentrism, and tough-guy panache penned some the most powerful prose of the 20th century…” (The Village Voice)
“If Norman Mailer… wasn’t larger than life, he sure gave it a run for its money.” (The San Francisco Chronicle)
So long, Mr. Mailer, and thanks for some very colorful times.