Could Ned Rorem be more of a bitter, spoiled old man?

Love this.

I read some of Ned Rorem's diary excerpts from "A Ned Rorem Reader" and it seemed extremely self-congratulatory, but interesting for a portrait of the art world at the time.

i really enjoyed some of his books on music. i could tell that we lived on two completely different planets but i like the way he writes about music.

kinda like how i used to enjoy reading stephen spender's books on literature. we probably didn't have very much in common when it came to art or life, but as criticism goes it was very enjoyable. i don't know why i thought of him. maybe i read them both during the same period in my life. for a while the only lit crit i read was spender, auden, and connolly. and chesterton! i would put on my club tie before reading.