Letter to Ms. Hagan
By Charles Portis
[
A letter to a Rutgers English major responding to her inquiries about 
the author's involvement in the "New Journalism" movement, 
by Charles Portis,
Transcribed by Alex T. Moore from the recipient's personal letter
for non-commercial use on The Unofficial Charles Portis Website
(http://charlesportis.cjb.net).
]

					Nov 21 '01
Dear Miss Hagan

Thanks for your letter.  I'm flattered but I'm afraid I wasn't part of 
any Herald Tribune "literary movement" in the 1960s.  I was a 
reporter there, with Tom Wolfe, but all I did was more or less 
straight newspaper reporting.  It was Tom, writing in the paper's 
Sunday Magazine, New York, and in Esquire magazine, who created the 
lively "new journalism."  Along with Gay Talese, a New York Times 
reporter, who also wrote for Esquire.  Mine, alas, was the old, dreary 
journalism, and I never wrote anything for either magazine.  It was all 
I could do to handle the ordinary stuff, and I left that in late 1964 
to try my hand at fiction.  A "movement" suggests design to me, some 
sort of concerted effort, people sitting around talking about some
central idea, and laying plans.  I can't remember being part of any 
such discussion at the time, with Tom or anyone else.  But then maybe 
you could say there was something in the air, I don't know.  Sorry I 
can't be of more help.  I do wish you well with your project.

Best,
Charles Portis