John Gardner

Author profile

born

July 21, 1933 in Batavia, New York, The United States

died

September 14, 1982

gender

male

website

http://www.genesee.edu/gardner/

genre

Literature & Fiction

influences

Chaucer

About this author

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John Champlin Gardner was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university professor, best known for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth.

Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. His father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught English at a local school. Both parents were fond of Shakespeare and often recited literature together. As a child, Gardner attended public school and worked on his father's farm, where, in April of 1945, his younger brother Gilbert was killed in an accident with a cultipacker. 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 Gardn...more

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Books by John Gardner

Average rating: 3.75 · 15,443 ratings · 1,325 reviews · 84 distinct works

	Grendel 3.66 avg rating — 10,253 ratings — published 1970 — 31 editions	My rating:
	The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers 3.93 avg rating — 1,585 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	My rating:
	On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner, Raymond Carver (Foreword by) 4.02 avg rating — 762 ratings — published 1983 — 11 editions	My rating:
	October Light by John Gardner, Tom Bissell (Introduction) 3.99 avg rating — 348 ratings — published 1976 — 14 editions	My rating:
	The Sunlight Dialogues by John Gardner, Charles Johnson (Introduction) 3.94 avg rating — 304 ratings — published 1972 — 13 editions	My rating:
	Nickel Mountain 3.80 avg rating — 287 ratings — published 1963 — 12 editions	My rating:
	On Moral Fiction 3.79 avg rating — 252 ratings — published 1978 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Freddy's Book 3.76 avg rating — 184 ratings — published 1980 — 8 editions	My rating:
	Mickelsson's Ghosts 4.00 avg rating — 182 ratings — published 1982 — 8 editions	My rating:
	In the Suicide Mountains 3.86 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 1977 — 5 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by John Gardner

“They watch on, evil, incredibly stupid, enjoying my destruction.

'Poor Grendel's had an accident,' I whisper. 'So may you all.”
― John Gardner, Grendel

tags: fiction , historical-fiction , last-lines , literature , retelling

21 people liked it

“People will tell you that writing is too difficult, that it's impossible to get your work published, that you might as well hang yourself. Meanwhile, they'll keep writing and you'll have hanged yourself.”
― John Gardner

tags: writing

17 people liked it

“Self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.”
― John Gardner

tags: reality , self-pity

16 people liked it

See all John Gardner's quotes »

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John Gardner

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by John Gardner

Quotes by John Gardner

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by John Gardner