Edinburgh Research Explorer Increasing the real life in ourselves Citation for published version: Spinks, L 2015, 'Increasing the real life in ourselves: Reflections on Norman Mailer’s 'Politics of State'', The Mailer Review, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 157-76. Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: The Mailer Review General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact
[email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 02. Oct. 2021 1 “Increasing the Real Life in Ourselves: Reflections on Norman Mailer’s Politics of State.” Dr Lee Spinks University of Edinburgh In the spring of 1969 Norman Mailer, fresh from his triumphant receipt of the Pulitzer Prize for The Armies of the Night, created a media sensation by announcing his entry into the Democratic Primary for the Mayoralty of New York City. The headline-grabbing centrepiece of his campaign was a call for the radical decentralisation of political power culminating in the establishment of the city of New York as the fifty-first state of the Union.