Remembering Gore Vidal

Fourteen years ago, my then boss, Matt d’Ancona sent me off to interview Gore Vidal. I’ll always be grateful to him for the opportunity. D’Ancona could have gone to meet the great man himself, but he knew I was a fan so he let me go.

Is there anything hopeful in American politics then? I asked Vidal towards the end of our enjoyable but pretty dispiriting evening in Claridge’s. I recorded his response as follows:

‘No,’ says Vidal.Anything good about the American people? ‘Not really.’How do you see the future of America panning out? ‘It panned out already, it’s sinking.’ Can anything be done to save it? ‘I don’t give a f***,’ says Vidal and orders another whisky and soda.

At the time, I remember thinking that Gore’s lack of faith in America and the West was a bit OTT and put on for effect. Today, on the tenth anniversary of his death, I’d like to raise my own whiskey and soda to him and tell him that I now see he was absolutely right.

The American writer Gore Vidal died ten years ago today.