during 1959 and 1960, he continued working on a never-completed novel called "the hipsters", which he had begun in geneva. he became part of the new york artists and writers 'salon' of his old friend plimpton—who had also moved back to new york— frequenting the cedar tavern, rubbing shoulders with writers james jones, william styron, norman mailer, philip roth, "doc" humes, jack gelber, jules feiffer, blair fuller, gore vidal, kenneth tynan, the aga khan, the cast of the british comedy stage revue "beyond the fringe", jackie kennedy, british actress jean marsh, and tynan's first wife, elaine dundy, through whom southern met satirist lenny bruce.