Gass, William H.

Gass, William H.

▪ American author
in full  William Howard Gass 
born July 30, 1924, Fargo, N.D., U.S.

      American writer noted for his experimentation with stylistic devices.

      Gass called his fiction works “experimental constructions,” and each of his books contains stylistic innovations. His first novel, Omensetter's Luck (1966), is about a man whose purity and good fortune are tainted when he is maliciously and falsely connected to a mysterious death. By piecing together various viewpoints, Gass creates levels of insight into character and setting; he does this, however, without the use of quotation marks to distinguish speakers. His novella Willie Masters' Lonesome Wife (1968)—a woman's reflections on her life and on language—makes use of typographical and other visual devices. Gass's lush, acrobatic style has been criticized by some as being achieved at the expense of characterization, plot, and such conventions as punctuation.

      Gass worked for 30 years to complete his second novel, The Tunnel (1995), a nearly plot-free exploration of the meanings of history, evil, and narrative. His critical writings Habitations of the Word (1985), Finding a Form (1996), and Tests of Time (2002) each won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. Gass's other works include In the Heart of the Heart of the Country (1968), short stories; Fiction and the Figures of Life (1970), collected critical essays; On Being Blue (1976), imaginative interpretations of the colour blue; The World Within the Word (1978), another collection of critical essays; Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation (1999), a critical analysis of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke (Rilke, Rainer Maria); and A Temple of Texts (2006), a series of meditations on books and reading. Gass taught philosophy at the College of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio), Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.), and Washington University (St. Louis, Mo.).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William H. Gass — William Howard Gass (born July 30, 1924) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, and former philosophy professor.Early lifeGass was born in Fargo, North Dakota. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Warren, Ohio, where… …   Wikipedia

  • William Gass — William H. Gass William Howard Gass (* 30. Juli 1924 in Fargo, North Dakota) ist ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller und emeritierter Philosophieprofessor. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Gass — William Howard Gass (né le 30 juillet 1924) est un écrivain américain. Professeur de philosophie à l Université Washington de Saint Louis, William Gass a été notamment marqué par l enseignement de Ludwig Wittgenstein. Considéré comme l un des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gass — is a surname, and may refer to: * A. J. Gass, Canadian football player * Craig Gass, comedian * Kyle Gass, member of the band Tenacious D * Melbourne Gass, Canadian politician * Michael David Irving Gass, Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1965 …   Wikipedia

  • Gass — ist der Name von Hanspeter Gass (* 1955), Schweizer Politiker Ivo Gass (* 1981), Schweizer Hornist Karl Gass (1917–2009), deutscher Dokumentarfilmregisseur und Filmfunktionär Kyle Gass (* 1960), US amerikanischer Musiker und Schauspieler Lars… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William — ist normannischen Ursprungs und die englische Form des männlichen Vornamens Wilhelm. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 William als Vorname 1.1 Namensträger 1.2 Künstlername 1.3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Gaddis — (December 29, 1922 – December 16, 1998) was an American novelist. He wrote five novels, two of which won National Book Awards.BiographyGaddis was born in New York City to William Thomas Gaddis, who worked on Wall Street and in politics, and Edith …   Wikipedia

  • William Henry Fitton — 1860 William Henry Fitton (* Januar 1780 in Dublin; † 13. Mai 1861 in London) war ein Irischer Geologe. Fitton erhielt seine Ausbildung am Trinity College in Dublin. 1798 erhielt er ein Oberstufenstipendium. Zu dieser Zeit begann er sich für Geol …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Henry Fitton — (January 1780 May 13, 1861) was an Irish geologistFitton was born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College in that city. He gained the senior scholarship in 1798, and graduated in the following year. At this time he began to take an interest in… …   Wikipedia

  • Gass — Recorded in many spelling forms including: Wass, Wace, Wase, Gass, Gaze, and Gazey, this ancient and interesting surname has two possible origins. The first is Anglo Scottish deriving from the Norman personal name Wazo . Introduced into Britain… …   Surnames reference

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”