In this 1978 non-fiction book, Gardner argues that art and writing should be moral and that his peers in the literary community are immoral for failing to uphold this tradition. We discuss Gardner's tragic life story while trying to process this debate and whether he was right, wrong or just an asshole.

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• On Moral Fiction

Additional Resources:

• John Gardner, Pugilist at Rest
• Moral Fiction
• John Gardner raided the castle of American fiction, a bit like Grendel. By David Stanton
• Getting the Elephant off the Baby: A Look Back at John Gardner’s On Moral Fiction
• John Gardner’s Tricksy Death and Tangled Legacy
• On Moral Fiction, By John Gardner, Analysis by Christian Author Lorilyn Roberts
• John Gardner: A Tiny Eulogy
• What Do You Mean, 'Moral' Fiction?
• An Interview with John Gardner
• John Gardner