John Gardner's Fantasy Mark

As we proceed through storytelling in this wild media age of Facebook and Twitter, we often loose track of great literature and writing when it eludes popular cultures eye. One literary gem that's not always talked about in terms of great American writers is none other then John Gardner. No author has shaped my style, my willingness to experiment and my overall love for writing quite like this little-known John Gardner.

John Gardner was an American writer who lived from July 21, 1933 - September 14, 1982. John Gardner was affluent writer and teacher, and was teaching fiction at the university level for most of his life. John Gardner wrote many books including Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, Nickel Mountain, and many others. Though I have enjoyed almost all of the books penned by John Gardner, none have influenced me more then his crowning work Grendel.

Grendel is a fantasy novel with a unique point of view in that it is told from the point of view of Grendel the villain from the ancient poem Beowulf. First off, the complete perspective turn from the view of a wholesome hero character to a menacing monster blew my mind in terms of how I interpret fantasy. Fantasy novels though complex and beautiful always appeared repetitive and unoriginal to me, so many falling into the quest-style mentality. This unique point of view is an outstanding plot device. Through a near seamless string of diction your brought into the world of Beowulf through this hideous monsters point of view. The true complexity of evil is exposed in Grendel and huge layers of morality are unveiled through this unique point of view in this purely fantasy setting. Grendel was a mighty revolutionary push in the world of fantasy.

How Grendel affected me as writer cannot be completely contained in words. John Gardner's most celebrated novel inspired me to think outside the box in terms of fantasy and science fiction, to create writing centered in this genre without relying on the mystical aspects that other writers use. Grendel taught me to be elaborate with fantasy and not to rely so much on the genre for plot or morals but to bounce those same ideas off of fantasy. If used properly science fiction and fantasy can expose more humanity and morality than fiction could ever dream. We're seeing it now with the wild popularity of "A Game Of Thrones" on HBO. Be original but pay homage to your favorite genre.

John Gardner is my favorite novelist because he made me feel like I knew him personally even though he was dead before I was born. Anytime a writer transcends time for you in how you interpret them legitimatizes their kinship to you. We're a chop of the same block in some way.