Items

• Walter Abish to William H. Gass

  Austrian-born fiction writer Walter Abish is often categorized with Gass as a “postmodernist,” and while Gass would contest that label, he often mentioned Abish as a kindred writer. In this letter, one can see how much Abish likewise admired Gass as a writer and valued him as a friend.
• William H, Gass to Tom LeClair

  This letter includes Gass’s thoughts on the limitations of interviews, in the last paragraph. LeClair, a highly regarded literary critic, would interview Gass in 1977 for The Paris Review and in 1978 with John Gardner for their famous debate on fiction.
• William H. Gass to Stephen Brook

  This short letter to an editor at David Godine documents how On Being Blue was evolving and the challenges Gass faced in completing it. Curiously, he mentions almost being done with a children’s book. The letter is one of four we acquired from Grogan, along with editorial matter toward On Being Blue.
• Diane Ackerman to William H. Gass

  Poet, essayist and naturalist Diane Ackerman was a friend of Gass’s and an admirer of his work. In this letter, she thanks him for his blurb on her new memoir about learning to fly an airplane. The “Paul” she refers to at the end is writer Paul West, her husband, fellow writer and Gass’s friend as well.
• Sketch of William H. Gass by Laura Moreno

  Moreno is a graphic artist based in Madrid, Spain. This illustration is used in the front and back endpapers of the Spanish edition of In The Heart of the Heart of the Country, translated by Rebeca Garcia Nieto (La Navaja, 2016). Moreno also designed the book cover.
• William H. Gass and William Gaddis in 1994

  This 1994 photograph, taken in the WashU International Writers Center when Gaddis was there for The Writer and Religion conference, shows the camaraderie the two writers shared. Castro took the photo and interviewed Gaddis at the time (she interviewed Gass on other occasions). The audio tape along with her notes and transcripts are in her papers in Special Collections.
• "The Literary Album" - Jamaica Kincaid Dinner

  Lorin Cuoco and William Gass participated in many of the same events, especially when they directed the International Writers Center together in the 1990s. She kept photo albums including this one, showing Gass in the River Styx Advisory Committee in 1988, and at a dinner for Jamaica Kincaid in 1989.
• William H. Gass at PEN International Congress

  Miriam Berkley is a NYC-based photographer who has captured numerous writers in formal photos and at events. She also produces editorial images and art photography. She photographed Gass a number of times at the 48th International PEN Congress in 1986, when over 600 writers from around the world gathered for literary discussions and sessions.
• William H. Gass at Typewriter

  This photo was taken by Bill Stover at Gass’s home in University City around the time Habitations of the Word was published in 1985.
• Wittgenstein Picture Theory of Propositions

  One of the most influential philosophers on Gass was Ludwig Wittgenstein. Gass often drew charts or other visual representations of philosophical and psychological concepts for his classes. These two are drawn on buff colored tracing paper.
• “Mississippi Crossing” Tracing

  Mary took photos of Bill taking photos around the Missouri and Mississippi River crossings on an excursion with Marc Chenetier from the University of Paris, and then made drawings from them to memorialize this time with Marc that developed into a lasting friendship. Mary turned the drawings into cards which she sent to various friends.
• New Letters on the Air: Contemporary Writers on Radio

  In this interview broadcast by University of Missouri-Kansas City in May 1990, Gass talks about his literary strengths and weaknesses, the challenge of depicting a reprehensible character in a sympathetic and cultured light, the origin and development of On Being Blue, and more.
• William Gass on "Poetic License," KPFK

  This radio interview was done before Gass spoke at the Lannan Foundation Literary Reading Series on January 21, 1992, when he was a visiting scholar at the Getty Institute in Los Angeles. He talks with Jay Kugelman of the Poetic License radio show about many topics related to The Tunnel which he was working on finishing at the Getty.
• American/Russian Writers Conference, Tape 1 Part 2

  In November 1985, American writers Louis Auchincloss, Charles Fuller, William Gaddis, William H. Gass, Allen Ginsberg, and Arthur Miller joined a conference with Soviet writers. On this tape (among 14 total), Gass gives an introduction to his biographical background and his approach to / outlook on writing.
• Graz Nord Amerika ‘82

  At this Austrian conference with fellow American writers John Ashbery and John Hawkes, Gass talks about meeting and being influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, then introduces and reads an excerpt from “In the Heart of the Heart of the Country.”
• William Gass Interview at LAX Airport

  This interview was most likely recorded in 1992 when Gass was a visiting scholar at the Getty Institute in Los Angeles. The interviewer is Jay Kugelman of the Poetic License radio show, who also interviews him on the KPFK tape, also in this exhibit. On this tape he talks about Kohler and The Tunnel in relation to the state of the country, his relationship with editors, and more.
• Voice of America USIA Phone Interview

  On this Voice of America USIA phone interview from 1986, Gass answers questions about regionalism, philosophy and literature as sources of knowledge, modernism vs post-modernism, the relationship between author and critic, and more.
• "Soundings" NHC Interview

  On the occasion of participating in a 1988 National Humanities Center conference on love, marriage, gender and sexuality, Gass spoke to an interviewer about love and philosophy in the modern world.
• Don Swaim with William Gass - Book Beat

  These short radio spots aired on WCBS/CBS Radio in April 1985 to promote the publication of Habitations of the Word. In clips taken from a longer interview, Gass talks about not considering himself a philosopher, the theft of his Omensetter’s Luck draft, debating John Gardner, the novel as metaphor for life, and more.
• Published and Perished Fundraiser

  At an April 25, 2010 fundraiser at Blueberry Hill Restaurant, academics from the St. Louis area read works by deceased writers from or associated with St. Louis. This clip is of Gass reading “Late Loving” by Mona Van Duyn.