John Barth is a leading contemporary American author, whose fiction and essays have helped define literary postmodernism. He has flourished as an eminent exponent of experimental narrative, respected teacher of creative writing, spirited performer on the lecture circuit, and thoughtful observer of the world literary scene.

Born in 1930 in Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, as one of fraternal twins teasingly named Jack and Jill, Barth often uses the motif of doubling and his native Chesapeake Bay area in his writing. He studied briefly at the Juilliard School of Music and earned his B.A. and M.A. in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. Further study for the Ph.D. was put off in favor of a variety of college posts to support his growing family. He held academic positions first

2274 words

Citation: Foeller-Pituch, Elzbieta. "John Barth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 November 2004; last revised 29 January 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=279, accessed 19 March 2024.]

279 John Barth 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.