Celebrity Roth and the Politics of Privacy

Abstract: Celebrity, fame, reputation, renown—all of these terms apply to Philip Roth, the award-winning novelist who sought and rejected attention. The nature of Roth’s relationship with fame and the steps he took to achieve and renounce it are the focus of this essay. Why did Roth insist on writing advertising copy for Goodbye, Columbus (1959 ) , but then leave the country when Portnoy’s Complaint (1969) was published? Why did he insist on controlling his interviews and demand final approval, yet present himself as an affable, cooperative subject as long as the questions were previously submitted and he had the final say? Why did he seemingly curb his Jewish identity but at eighty-one graciously accept an honorary degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary? Why did he encourage Claudia Roth Pierpont and Blake Bailey to write about him yet dissuade others from writing about his private life? How did self-protection and self-promotion intersect? Answers to these and other questions form the substance of this discussion, which will outline the politics of privacy and the price of fame. Did Roth pursue and then reject fame because he knew it was transparent and false? Or was he on a constant quest for recognition validating his literary enterprise?