Conversations with Tom Wolfe

Front Cover
Dorothy McInnis Scura
Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1990 - Biography & Autobiography - 296 pages
Literary journalist, ""lowly social historian,"" ""chronicler of his times,"" and ""champion of realism"" are among the many epithets heaped upon Tom Wolfe by himself and his myriad admirers and critics. In this collection of interviews spanning his richly productive career, Wolfe is seen as a writer imitating no one and riding the crest of each latest wave in contemporary America.

For more than a quarter of a century he has been the vivid and varied chronicler of our time--from the Californian car customizers and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters of the sixties to the ambition-driven inhabitants of New York City in the eighties. His hybrid of reporting and fiction-writing has received perhaps more applause than any other literary journalism, and his first major work of fiction, Bonfire of the Vanities, rested at the top of the bestseller lists for more than a year.

Here is Tom Wolfe talking--about the subjects of his eight books, about the writers he admires, about the discipline of writing, about his politics and his disposition to satire and parody. As he explains his attempt ""to show the world 'life in our times,'"" this collection of delightfully witty and informative interviews reveals the insights and the intellect of one of America's brightest and most appealing authors.
 

Contents

How to Wolfe a Tangerine at a Tangent Terry Coleman
3
Tom Wolfe on the Search for the Real Me Lawrence Dietz
18
Pop Writer of the PeriodTom Wolfe Talks to Michael
24
Tom Wolfe Michael Mok
30
Tom Wolfe Joe David Bellamy
36
Sitting Up with Tom Wolfe Joe David Bellamy
56
Tom Wolfe and the Painted Word William F Buckley Jr
73
Wolfe Foresees a Religious Great Awakening Philip Nobile
95
An Interview with Tom Wolfe
167
CA Interview Mary V McLeod
178
Tom Wolfe Ron Reagan
186
The Evolution of Dandy Tom Toby Thompson
199
Never Try to Fit In Tom Wolfe Advises Young Writers Heath
221
Tom Wolfe Brant Mewborn
230
The Police Reporter at the Garden Party Hilary DeVries
241
The Book on Tom Wolfe John Taylor
255

The Earthling and the Astronauts Adrianne Blue
103
Tom Wolfe Examines Why The New Left Disappeared U
111
Tom Wolfe Martin L Gross
121
Tom Wolfe Chet Flippo
129
Tom Wolfe Joshua Gilder
158
Savvy Social Seer Pat Sellers
267
Tom Wolfe Bill Moyers
273
Master of His Universe Bonnie Angelo
283
Index
290
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1990)

Dorothy Scura is editor of Conversations with Tom Wolfe, published by University Press of Mississippi.

Bibliographic information