John Champlin Gardner Jr. (July 21, 1933 – September 14, 1982) was an American novelist, essayist, literary critic, and university professor. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''
Grendel
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...
'', a retelling of the
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
myth from the monster's point of view.
Early life and education
Gardner was born in
Batavia, New York
Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population, as of the 2020 census, ...
. His father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught third grade at a small school in a nearby village. Both parents were fond of poetry, and would often recite their favorite poetry and poetry they wrote about life on the farm at friends' homes. Gardner was active in The Boy Scouts of America and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. The young Gardner attended public school and worked on his father's farm.
In April 1945, his younger brother Gilbert was killed in an accident with a
cultipacker
A cultipacker is a piece of agricultural equipment that crushes dirt clods, removes air pockets, and presses down small Rock (geology), stones, forming a smooth, firm seedbed. Where seed has been broadcast, the roller gently firms the soil aroun ...
. Gardner, who was driving the tractor during the fatal accident, carried guilt for his brother's death throughout his life, suffering nightmares and flashbacks. The incident informed much of Gardner's fiction and criticism — most directly in the 1977 short story "Redemption," which included a fictionalized recounting of the accident as an impetus for artistic inspiration.
Gardner began his university education at
DePauw University
DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...
, and received his undergraduate degree from
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
(1958) from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
University of Detroit
The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...
in 1970.
Fiction
Gardner's best-known novels include '' The Sunlight Dialogues'', about a disaffected policeman asked to engage a madman fluent in classical mythology; ''
Grendel
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...
'', a retelling of the
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
legend from the monster's point of view, with an existential subtext; and '' October Light'', about an embittered brother and sister living and feuding with each other in rural Vermont (the novel includes an invented "trashy novel" that the woman reads). This last book won the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Speculum'', Sumner J. Ferris pointed to several passages that were allegedly lifted either in whole or in part from work by other authors without proper citation. Ferris charitably suggested that Gardner had published the book too hastily, but on April 10, 1978, reviewer Peter Prescott, writing in ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', cited the ''Speculum'' article and accused Gardner of
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
, a claim that Gardner met "with a sigh."
''On Moral Fiction''
In 1978, Gardner's book of literary criticism, '' On Moral Fiction'', sparked a controversy that excited the mainstream media, vaulting Gardner into the spotlight with an interview on ''
The Dick Cavett Show
''The Dick Cavett Show'' is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:
* ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968 – January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning''
* ABC prime time, Tuesday ...
'' (May 16, 1978) and a cover story in ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...
'' (July, 1979). His judgments of contemporary authors—including
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...
,
John Barth
John Simmons Barth (; May 27, 1930 – April 2, 2024) was an American writer best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include '' The Sot-Weed Facto ...
and other American authors—harmed his reputation among fellow writers and book reviewers. Gardner claimed that lingering animosity from critics of this book led to unflattering reviews of what turned out to be his last finished novel, '' Mickelsson's Ghosts'', although literary critics later praised the book.
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...
found ''On Moral Fiction'', as well as Gardner's novels, sanctimonious and pedantic, and called Gardner the "late apostle to the lowbrows, a sort of Christian evangelical who saw Heaven as a paradigmatic American university."Vidal, Gore (1986 "Calvino's Death." From ''At Home''.
Teaching
Gardner was a life-long teacher of fiction writing. He was associated with the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most ...
. He wrote two books on the craft of writing fiction: ''The Art of Fiction'' and ''On Becoming a Novelist.''
Gardner inspired and, according to
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About ...
, sometimes intimidated his students. At Chico State College (where he taught from 1959 to 1962), when Carver mentioned to Gardner that he had not liked the assigned short story,
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...
's "Blackberry Winter," Gardner said, "You'd better read it again." "And he wasn't joking", said Carver, who related this anecdote in his foreword to Gardner's book ''On Becoming a Novelist''. In that foreword, he makes it clear how much he respected Gardner and also relates his kindness as a writing mentor.
In addition to Chico State, Gardner taught at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
(1958–1959),
San Francisco State College
San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the Califor ...
(1962–1965),
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...
(1965–1974),
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,
, and
Binghamton University
The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...
(1974–1982).
Family life
Gardner married Joan Louise Patterson on June 6, 1953; the marriage, which produced children, ended in divorce in 1980. Gardner married poet and novelist Liz Rosenberg in 1980; this marriage ended in divorce in 1982.
Death
Gardner died in a motorcycle accident about two miles from his home in
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania
Susquehanna County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 38,434 Its county seat is Montrose, Pennsylvania, Montro ...
, on September 14, 1982. He was pronounced dead at Barnes-Kasson Hospital in Susquehanna. The crash was four days before his planned marriage to Susan Thornton He was buried next to his brother Gilbert in Batavia's Grandview Cemetery.
Works
Fiction
* ''The Resurrection''. New American Library, 1966; Vintage Books, 1987,
* ''The Wreckage of Agathon''. Harper & Row, 1970; Dutton, 1985,
* ''
Grendel
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...
''. New York: Vintage Books, 1971, illustrated by Emil Antonucci,
* '' The Sunlight Dialogues''. Knopf, 1972, ; reprint New Directions Publishing, 2006,
* ''Jason and Medeia''. Knopf, 1973, ; Vintage Books, 1986, pic narrative poem* ''Nickel Mountain: A Pastoral Novel'', Knopf, 1973, ; reprint New Directions Publishing, 2007,
* ''The King's Indian''. Knopf, 1974, ; reissue Ballantine Books, 1983, tories* ''October Light'', Knopf, 1976 ; reprint New Directions Publishing, 2005,
* ''In the Suicide Mountains''. Knopf, 1977,
* ''Vlemk the Box Painter''. Lord John Press, 1979, airy tale* ''Frankenstein''. New London Press, 1979.
* '' Freddy's Book''. Knopf, 1980, ; White Pine Press, 2007,
* ''The Art of Living and Other Stories''. Knopf, 1981; reprint, Vintage Books, 1989,
* '' Mickelsson's Ghosts''. Knopf, 1982, ; reprint New Directions Publishing, 2008,
* ''Stillness and Shadows''. Knopf, 1986, ncompleted novels
Biography
* ; reprint Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1999,
Poems
* ''Poems'', Lord John Press, 1978
* Jason and Medeia. Knopf, 1973, ; Vintage Books, 1986, pic narrative poem
Children's stories
* ''Dragon, Dragon (and Other Tales)''. Knopf, 1975; Bantam Books, 1979,
* ''Gudgekin The Thistle Girl (and Other Tales)''. Knopf, 1976,
* ''The King of the Hummingbirds (and Other Tales)''. Knopf, 1977,
* ''A Child's Bestiary''. Knopf, 1977,
Criticism and Instruction
* ''The Forms of Fiction'' (1962) (with Lennis Dunlap) Random House, anthology of short stories
* ''The Construction of the Wakefield Cycle'' (1974)
* ''The Poetry of Chaucer'' (1977)
* '' On Moral Fiction'', Basic Books, 1978,
* ''On Becoming a Novelist'' (1983)
* ''The Art of Fiction'' (1983)
* ''On Writers and Writing'' (1994) ; reprint Westview Press, 1995,
Translation
* ''The Complete Works of the Gawain Poet'' (1965)
* ''The Alliterative Morte Arthure and Other Middle English Poems'' (1971)
* ''Tengu Child'' (with Nobuko Tsukui) (1983)
* ''Gilgamesh'' (with John Maier, Richard A. Henshaw) (1984)
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
* , ''Wired for Books''
* "Thirty years Later: A Conversation on John Gardner (with Joel Gardner). March 2012