Cartesian Sonata, published in 1998, brought together four interrelated novellas that explore good and evil, action and thought, redemption and possession, starting with “The Clairvoyant,” first published as a short story in 1964. Thematic similarities and direct references to past (and future) works are present in Cartesian Sonata, but here Gass is most focused on the correlation between the physical and immaterial.

As with The Tunnel, another book that spanned around three decades from conception to publication, the William Gass Papers contain early, correscted typescripts from the 1960s and refined printouts from the 1990s.

"The Clairvoyant" - Draft Fragments

Selected typescript and manuscript notes and draft pages of "The Clairvoyant"

"Unique Novel Will Be Completed in London"
"Unique Novel Will Be Completed in London"
 
The Pushcart Prize - "I Wish You Wouldn't"

Pushcart Prize award for "I Wish You Wouldn't," 1976

Gass Discussing Literature and Reading His Fiction

Gass discussing literature and reading excerpts of his fiction including "The Clairvoyant," at the Person-To-Person Lecture Series at Washington University. Use Firefox for best results.

"A Master of Sweet Revenges" - Letter and Title Page
"A Master of Sweet Revenges" - Letter and Title Page
<em>Cartesian Sonata and Other Novellas</em> dust jacket

Cartesian Sonata and Other Novellas dust jacket