"They should be selling automobiles at the corner!" Gore Vidal was one of the very, very rare breed of people who embodied high intellect and a great sense of humor. And, he was one of the most brilliant truth tellers ever.

Gore Vidal makes me laugh. The contrast between these two guys is hilarious. Vidal is so intense. This interviewer is bombarding him with questions as if to get every piece of wisdom out of him before he croaks any minute.

Vidal had a lot of problems at this stage. I imagine the interview never was intentionally constructed as a commentary on Italo Calvino, but that this was the only salvageable part of the discussion. I have a lot of sympathy for Vidal and admiration for his work. His life went into a tailspin after his partner of 50 years died.

Aside from being born in Cuba, his family moved back to Italy in the 20s while Calvino was still an infant. He taught sometimes at the Sorbonne, but lived in Liguria and all his works so far as I know, including "La formica argentina," Le città invisibili, Le Cosmicomiche, etc were written and published in Italian.

Gore Vidal had a very straight forward way to express what he thinks that it is very fascinating to listen to everything he said. Do you really recognize when you are listen to someone special, with a cunning understanding and knowledge? A visionary. It is what we miss these days. Men like Gore Vidal, Italo Calvino e many others that they passed away. It feels lonely. I do not want to adapt myself to mediocrity in order to fit in this society, but i know one day i will find what i desire

Nice to find Gore being interviewed about his craft for a change. It's time I grabbed myself a copy of Italo Calvino. Thanks for the upload.

"Hitchens identified himself for many years as the heir to me ... unfortunately, for him, I didn't die." Gore Vidal , October 2009

Hey I'm not an italian nationalist but, damn, Calvino was absolutely an italian writer. Yes, he was born in Cuba but by italian parents and he come back to Italy at the age of 2. He spent most of his life in Italy, wrote all of his books in italian and worked for Einaudi, the gratest italian publisher all of his life, even when he was living in Paris.

The English Department where I got my degree mostly taught Victorian and Edwardian authors--stiflingly so. Hemingway was not only a breath of fresh air, but his voice was such a breath of fresh air. You can definitely appreciate his influence by spending some time reading what came before.

calvino is italian, wrote all his books in italian and spent 99% of his life in italy.

thank you I love this video

So what if he shits on other writers? It's one writers opinion - and he earned his "soap box." He's interesting and he had great ideas.

This was painful. Riz Khan did no research for this interview. Italo Calvino was Italian and wrote mainly in Italian! Yes, he was born in Cuba, to an Italian family, and he was less than 2 years old when his family returned to Italy.

The story Vidal talks about is 'Argentine Ants'.

At 5.40, such emotion. I have not seen this from GV before.

The interviewer and Vidal should probably have looked up Italo Calvino's biography before engaging in an interview about him.

I don't know it's appropriate to compare writers between different GENRES, and that's why we (like it or not) formulate genres and categorize works into the boxes, in order that each of them will shine, and can be fairly judged. You can't compare Calvino to Faulkner or etc., it's like saying tiger is better than shark, - they're from different species, both good, potential, fantastic in their own way. So Calvino, yes, he is the best, but ONE of the 'bests' out there, (and Borges too)

Poor old Gore : he's only firing on one cylinder. The interviewer does well. All that's left are the mannerisms.

Calvino is one of my favourite writers of all time. Hence, I was really glad to see there's a video where Vidal praises him. Now. Having said that: Gore Vidal or the interviewer know almost nothing about the writer. FRENCH-WRITING WRITER? CUBAN? WHAT THE HELL? Calvino wrote all his oeuvre in Italian, was raised in Italy and lived for quite a while in Argentina. Basic stuff. If you know anything about a writer, go learn what the language they wrote in was.

I identify as a heir of Gore Vidal.

Many thanks. I thought he'd made his peace with Mailer - apparently not.

Calvino left Cuba at the age of 2 (though he later romanticized Che Guevera) and spent some time in Paris, but most of his life in Italy. He was a communist until the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian rebellion in 1956 (presumably before Vidal knew him).

italo calvino was AWESOME, but vidal is mostly just flexing his attitude rather than teaching anything of use....

Gore Vidal has an engaging MANNER of speaking. Unfortunately, there is a difference between manner and matter.

I wonder if Gore Vidal ever talked with Calvino about Hemingway, who Calvino admired a lot. Same could likely be said of Faulkner. Gore trashes and discards both of them but doesn't seem to consider how they've influenced one of his idols.

I've always greatly admired Vidal for his essays, his historical novels, and his memoirs but near the end, he became very bitter, even deranged, bitterly denouncing writers who deserved better, Updike and Hemingway, among them. This interview sadly shows this. Vidal suffered at the end from "wet brain," having essentially drunk himself to death. A tragic end for an otherwise remarkable man.

I like what I've read of Italo Calvino, which isn't that much, but I actually think that Ray Bradbury was more imaginative and evocative. Is Gore Vidal just another Eurosnob?

crazy but true and fine with me.

Sadly, Gore Vidal lost his lucid and witty repartee of quotes and knowledge in later years. All that was left in his later years was the residues of this wonderful and electrifying mind. His best writings are contained in his essays. Of course, Calvino was indeed Italian and wrote in Italian. He was also far more well-known than made out to be in this interview. (Quite probably the most famed Italian writer from the late 20th century.) Finally, I whole-heartedly disagree with him on Faulkner (one of my favourites) but I do agree that Hemingway was overrated.

Clive James please don't die you once described Rilke as a prick . ( Just before I found out he was dead )

"Only great writer of my time". Bullshit. I'd like to hear his criticisms of Bulkagov, Rulfo, Kafka, Lawrence, and Gunter Grass. Literary critics as a rule are self-involved to the point of psychosis, but this Vidal seems to be on another level. In neither his praise of Calvino or "criticisms" of other writers did he diverge from blind fan-boy love or ad-hominem attacks.

Very lucid, he is totally right about Heminguay, I never understood why people like such a nulity, maybe corresponds to the american values of individualism etc. But Calvino is wonderful, genial, uncomparably better. Under these americans nanicos only Bukowski can be compared with Calvino

5:20 9:32 that's the first time I've seen him come close to crying😔. LOLLL 6:24 8:14

Tell me what you REALLY think.

"Italo was bigger than France"" Macron's Every Bed time Prayer!!

Vidal. A shabby drunk.

Calvino was not a "Cuban writer", as both the interviewer and Vidal seem to suggest. Although born in Cuba his parents (Italian) returned to Italy when he was still an infant. Nor was he apolitical, as Vidal maintains, having been active in the Italian resistance during WW2 and then in the Communist Party until 1957, when he became disillusioned.

Funny

Everything Vidal said is true.

literally qfwfq

Ha ha Gore's summary on Hemingway and Mailer. Spot on.Huge literary snob but justified here, as those mentioned, are hugely overrated as writers.

Interviewer is terrible. Pronounces his name wrong from the start & makes other errors. Cuba is not South America. He was born to Italian parents and grew up in Italy.

Listen: Italo Calvino was ITALIAN and wrote essentially in Italian. He was born in Cuba accidentally. He lived between Turin, Rome, and Paris. Sorry.

Interesting ...but what the fuck !! Nonsense!!

Sorry Gore, I appreciate your praise of Calvino and yes, he does deserve a belated reappraisal. Yet, your assertions of Faulkner and Hemingway as being dum-dums is patent nonsense.

So bad writers (in his opinion) would be more comfortable as women. Hmmm not sexist at all, is he?

Vidal's fiction is abominable comparative any of the writers he trashed. Calvino was good. Hemingway was better. And as for Faulkner, only Joyce compares as the greatest writer of the century.

Always remember his mockery of Nixon as US forces crossed into Cambodia quotes Nixon : This is not an invasion.... It was like something out of Doestyevsky 😂

Calvino was born in Cuba and was married there as well. And he did spend a great deal of time living in France during his later years. And all Vidal said was that he wrote in French when he wanted to, which is of course true.