Heather Neilson

I recognize Ravello in the dreamWhere Gore Vidal and Howard walk towardsMe, smiling, with martinis in their hands.We’re now inside La Rondinaia (orThe Swallow’s Nest). I sense unevennessBeneath my feet, look down, and see the floorComprised of pale blue jigsaw pieces, allIn disarray. I must tread carefully,In order not to break these scattered tilesThat seem like fragments from a fallen sky. ... (read more)

The editors of Conversations with Gore Vidal – a recently published selection of interviews conducted with Vidal over the course of his long career – introduce the volume by quoting a comment made in the New Yorker in 1960: ‘Nothing’s easier nowadays than to get the feeling of being surrounded by Gore Vidal.’ They go on to remark that, today: ‘Gore Vidal is again seemingly everywhere. ... (read more)