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Well, he hasn't quite hit the top of the charts, except for All the King's Men. He did a couple of other books that were great sellers, but he's also done some that have not done too well. They are all best-sellers, but...

Do you think that he's losing his genius or there is still more to come?

I think that there's a great deal more to come, but he spreads himself. He writes poetry. He got interested in the civil rights question. He's a southerner who is an ardent liberal. He became a professor at Yale and he loved teaching and his students absolutely fell at his feet. Irresistible--Red Warren, one of the nicest men you ever met.

Would you call him a gentleman?

Oh, would I call him a gentleman? I certainly would.

And yet, even though he's humble basically, I would think that an author needs to feel that he's...

By humble I don't mean that he doesn't recognize the fact that he's a good author. He's very self-confident. But I mean that he's reticent about it. He doesn't throw it in your face.