Though he had an over-religious mother and alcoholic father,

Fuck this myth that artists are channeling their deepest inner emotions or whatever when creating art. NO, what the good ones ACTUALLY do is practice and become extremely good at the art, and then work very hard on making their individual art works great. They don't have to have been traumatized as a child or some bullshit. In fact, they're much more likely to become great artists if they grow up in an environment where they're allowed a lot of time and encouraged to work on their art, IE they're sufficiently wealthy and comfortable and don't have to worry about getting by

>>8860921
So you're telling me Gass was just so talented he didn't need to draw on personal experience?

>>8860741
You see, he's fat.

>past tense
You had me scared for a second there

>>8861118
Different poster but it's pretty much absolutely true: go to this link and the ctrl+f "I’ve written almost nothing about anybody I know" https://medium.com/the-william-h-gass-interviews/william-h-gass-interviewed-by-greg-gerke-2011-88b925ca2a55#.47glsbwxc

with how fucking great The Tunnel is I think I'll have to give him credit for his point

>>8860741
>for all intents and purposes, lived a wholesome and fulfilling life.
>had an over-religious mother and alcoholic father
>"computes perfectly, """for all intents and purposes""" "

>had an over-religious mother
>Where exactly did he experience first-hand a sense of persecution

>had an alcoholic father
>Where exactly did he experience first-hand a sense of persecution

>>8861423
Not a perfect childhood, but not horrible either. He was never beat, as you might expect from reading the tunnel.

>>8862435
>Not a perfect childhood, but not horrible either. He was never beat, as you might expect from reading the tunnel.
How bad of a childhood is bad enough for you?

>>8862450
If you only knew him from the tunnel you'd think he'd been in the holocaust or something.

>>8862509
psychological abuse can be pretty nerve-wracking too. Hell, I've gotten beat by my father but I think being screamed at, bullied, threatened by him and interrogated about minor things on a daily basis were worse than the actual hitting. That's why I feel pretty bad for Gass tbqh.