Gordon Lish Summary

Below, McGraw provides an unfavorable review of the stories in Mourner at the Door. It is not immobility that afflicts Gordon Lish's characters in the stories that make up Mourner at the Doo... Read more

In the following excerpt, Seabrook examines Lish's work in the context of minimalist fiction and discusses the unconventional narrative techniques utilized in What I Know So Far. In its Fall... Read more

Below, Evenson offers a stylistic analysis of Zimzum. Lish is not afraid to violate taboo, to render discourse extravagant, to speak of that which others dare not, in his relentless exploration of ... Read more

Tyler is an American novelist and short story writer who is known for her fictional portraits of family life in works such as Searching for Caleb (1976) and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982). O... Read more

Birkerts is an American critic. In the following excerpt, he traces Lish's influence as an editor and fiction writer. When I had my interview with Arnold Gingrich at Esquire and he asked me... Read more

In the following interview, Lish discusses aspects of his career as an editor, teacher, and writer. [Penn]: Where have you taught writing? [Lish]: I' ve taught at Yale, Columbia and NYU. ... Read more

In the following negative review of Mourner at the Door, Rubins maintains that Lish's short fiction is "so mannered, so derivatively styled, as to cancel out all intimacy and empathy. &#... Read more