The Humanist Interview with Gore Vidal (Interview) (Cover Story‪)‬

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HE'S BEEN CALLED an iconoclast, a provocateur, a misanthrope, and a conspiracy theorist ("I'm a conspiracy analyst," he corrects). And now, with his acceptance last spring of the American Humanist Association's honorary presidency, the acclaimed writer and critic Gore Vidal can add "humanist" to the mix. On August 4, 2009, Humanist Editor Jennifer Bardi and AHA President David Niose sat down with Vidal at his home in Hollywood, California, for a lengthy conversation. Many of the familiar topics were discussed--his famous family, forays into politics and the film industry, brushes with fellow writers and public figures, his admiration for Amelia Earhart and his disgust with US. foreign policy--peppered with spot-on impersonations of John F. Kennedy, Greta Garbo, and George W. Bush. Something else that emerged is the unapologetic humanism of this acclaimed novelist, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and esteemed public intellectual. Vidal, who's now in his eighty-fourth year, continues to entertain, enrage, and enlighten. His latest book, Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History's Glare, was published in October.