A White Suit and Keen Eye

“His hyperbolic, stylized writing work was a gleeful fusillade of exclamation points, italics and improbable words. An ingenious phrase maker, he helped brand such expressions as ‘radical chic’ for rich liberals’ fascination with revolutionaries; and the ‘Me’ generation, defining the self-absorbed baby boomers of the 1970s.

“‘He was an incredible writer,’ [Gay] Talese told the AP on Tuesday. ‘And you couldn’t imitate him. When people tried it was a disaster. They should have gotten a job at a butcher’s shop.’”

—Hillel Italie, AP reporter, “Tom Wolfe, a Titan of Journalism, Has Died at 88,” Esquire, May 15, 2018.

• Editorial Comment: Gotta dig out my white suit and spats.
• NYT Obit

Peezpix

CA Poppies

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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard