John Gardner
John Champlin Gardner (1933-1982) was an American novelist and teacher. (Note - Gardner, the American author, should not be confused with the British author John Gardner.) He was born in 1933 in Batavia, New York. He was a popular and controversial figure until his death, while riding a motorcycle, in 1982.Gardner's most popular novels were The Sunlight Dialogues, about a brooding, disenchanted policemen who is called upon to engage a madman fluent in classical mythology, and Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf legend from the monster's point of view. Both books feature brutish figures struggling for integrity and understanding. Gardner was famously obsessive with his work and has a reputation for advanced craft, smooth rhythms and careful attention to the continuity of the fictive dream.
Throughout his adult life Gardner continued to teach writing. He was a favorite at the Breadloaf writers conference and his two books on authorship -- The Art of Fiction and On Becoming a Novelist -- are considered classics. However, the conclusive and didactic style was not well received in his book of criticism called On Moral Fiction. His direct and often unflattering judgments of contemporary authors harmed his relationships with many in the publishing industry.
John Gardner was married twice, first to ??, and then to the poet Elizabeth Rosenberg. When he died he was engaged to Susan Thornton. A book by Thornton detailing her relationship with Gardner, , was published in 2004.
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Some Books by John Gardner
Fiction
Biography
Children's Stories
Didactic
Translation