Essayist, novelist, and short-story writer, William H. Gass (1924-2017) was an important figure in the American literary scene since the 1970s. Author of six works of fiction and nine of non-fiction, he was one of the leading figures of the formalist wave in contemporary American Literature. Professor of philosophy and inventor of the term “metafiction”, he is often associated with the postmodernist generation, alongside writers such as John Barth, Robert Coover and Donald Barthelme.
William H. Gass was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1924. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Warren, Ohio, where he spent his childhood during the Depression. Despite his early literary ambitions, he decided to major in philosophy at Kenyon College. During World War II, he interrupted his studies to
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Citation: Monti, Enrico. "William Gass". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 October 2010; last revised 15 February 2023. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1700, accessed 21 November 2024.]
