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A critical study that examines Gardner's fiction, philosophy, and intertextual "collage technique" to show how his moral and aesthetic ideas shape his major works.
A major contribution to Gardner studies, The Art of John Gardner offers a rich, wide-ranging account of one of the most intellectually ambitious American writers of the twentieth century. Per Winther brings together philosophy, literary criticism, and close textual analysis to illuminate both Gardner’s fiction and his critical project, especially his influential arguments in On Moral Fiction.
Drawing on thinkers such as Darwin, Whitehead, Collingwood, Blanshard, and Croce, Winther reconstructs the philosophical groundwork behind Gardner's moral aesthetics, while also charting how those ideas take shape across his novels, short fiction, and scholarly writings. Particular attention is given to Gardner's engagement with medieval literature and his early editorial work, revealing how deeply his fiction is rooted in tradition even as it pushes toward innovation.
Winther's study is especially notable for its examination of Gardner’s intertextual practice—what he calls Gardner’s "collage technique"—and for tracing the deliberate use of literary classics within his narrative art. This approach not only clarifies individual works but also reframes Gardner"s relationship to modern and postmodern techniques.
"There is a great deal to like about this work. First, it takes an honest and forthright stance in regard to On Moral Fiction. Second, Winther provides the philosophical background—Darwin, Whitehead, Collingwood, Blanshard, and Croce—to help us see the argument Gardner was trying to develop in On Moral Fiction. Third, Winther, more than any other scholar, has investigated Gardner's other critical and scholarly writings on medieval literature as well as his early anthology to illuminate particular points in Gardner's fiction as well as Gardner's general approach. Fourth, Winther, more than anyone else, has examined Gardner's intertextuality, what Winther calls his 'collage technique.' Winther has carefully traced Gardner's self-conscious use of earlier literary classics. This analysis of Gardner's literary collage is important not only for what it shows about the individual works, but also because it narrows the distance between Gardner and the postmodernists, who often use similar techniques." — Dean McWilliams, Ohio University, author of John Gardner
"Among this work's chief virtues are the large-scale analyses of several important works, including The King's Indian (the fullest commentary yet attempted on this important work), Jason and Medeia (an arguably central work in the Gardner canon that has been woefully neglected), and The Sunlight Dialogues.
"This book will make an important contribution to Gardner criticism. It contains useful and insightful interpretations and analyses of both major and minor works, including much that is original. In reading the book, I both learned things I had not known and was shown connections I had not previously made." — Jeff Henderson, University of Central Arkansas, author of John Gardner: A Study of the Short Fiction
Per Winther is in the Department of British and American Studies at the University of Oslo.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Life Follows Fiction
2. Rational Morality
3. The Aesthetics of Exploration: Theoretical Considerations
4. Tradition and the Artist's Moment
5. Collage Technique I
6. Collage Technique II: A Case Study
7. Dialectics
Notes
Works Cited
Index