William Gass

World-renowned author William H. Gass, the David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, recently was awarded the William Dean Howells Medal for his novel “Middle C.”

Friends and fans of celebrated author William H. Gass, PhD, the David L. May Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, gathered Sept. 28 in Umrath Lounge to mark his 90th birthday with a special reading from his collected works. The reading, “Passages of Time,” was sponsored by University Libraries.

An Olin Library exhibition, titled William H. Gass: The Soul Inside the Sentence, ends July 31. But a newly launched digital version of the exhibit allows for ongoing exploration of a wide-ranging selection of the esteemed writer’s drafts, interviews, photographs and more. A gallery talk will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, July 19, in Olin Library’s Ginkgo Reading Room, providing a guided tour of the in-person exhibition.

Join Joel Minor, curator of the Modern Literature Collection/Manuscripts, for a guided tour of the exhibition William H. Gass: The Soul Inside the Sentence on Thursday, June 20, at 4 p.m. or on Friday, July 19, at 9 a.m. in Olin Library.

“William H. Gass: The Soul Inside the Sentence” opens Monday, March 11, in Olin Library’s Ginkgo Reading Room and Grand Staircase Lobby. Drawing on Special Collections’ archive of his literary papers, the exhibition includes items related to each of Gass’s many books, which range from novels to short story collections to essays and literary criticism. Gass also will give a reading at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 titled “How to Behave Around Books.”

Washington University Libraries and the St. Louis Poetry Center will present a program featuring the works of renowned American poet Elizabeth Bishop at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, in Wilson Hall, Room 214, on Washington University’s Danforth Campus. A reception will follow in the Ginkgo Reading Room in the nearby Olin Library. The event is free and open to the public.

GassWilliam H. Gass, Ph.D., the David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and founder of the International Writers Center, both in Arts & Sciences, has won this year’s PEN/Spielvogel Diamonstein Award in the Art of the Essay category.