Susan Thornton, author and fiancée of the late novelist John Gardner, will give a reading from her book On Broken Glass: Loving and Losing John Gardner. The event will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18, in the Welles-Brown Room in Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester River Campus.
Thornton's book follows her relationship with Gardner as a student, lover, and finally, as a fiancée, including his decline into alcoholism before his tragic death in 1982. Thornton writes directly and believably, the way her own subject taught her.
Less than a week before their marriage was to take place, Gardner was killed in a motorcycle accident. An accomplished writer and Nobel Prize in Literature nominee, Gardner was known for his works such as Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and Mickelsson's Ghost. He also taught at universities around the country and wrote poetry, biography, scholarship, short stories, and a textbook. Gardner's personal and professional papers can be found in Rush Rhees Library's Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation.
Thornton's book could be considered a biography of the late author. Mostly, however, it is Thornton's attempt to come to terms with aspects of their relationship as well as with Gardner's untimely death.
Thornton's reading will include a discussion of her work. The event is free and open to the public.