Description: McGurl offers a fundamental reinterpretation of postwar American fiction, asserting that it can be properly understood only in relation to the rise of mass higher education and the creative writing program. The Program Era will be at the center of debates about postwar literature and culture for years to come.
Brief description: Mark McGurl is a Professor of English at Stanford University.
Review Quotes: McGurl does have some smart things to say about the evolution of this creative writing movement--he documents it as part of the rise of progressive education in general--and about the many paradoxes involved when universities get in the business of trying to structure, codify and reward artistic endeavor.--Charles McGrath "New York Times" (4/19/2009 12:00:00 AM)