John Gardner, a Bibliographical Profile

So now, writes John Gardner in his Afterword to the first annotated bibliography of works by and about him, reading John Howell s list of Separate publications XXXI in all (however many that is)I feel pleasure and then alarm, rolling my eyes toward the ceiling, asking God, Is it enough? The book includes a biographical sketch; a collation of the first American edition; printing histories of first American and British editions and of subsequent editions; annotated checklists of fiction, poetry, essays, reviews, and letters; an annotated checklist of interviews: I m astonished, reading these summaries of interviews, at how often and how deeply I contradict myself; a checklist of manuscripts and contributions to other media; secondary checklists of articles, essays, and reviews about Gardner and his works; plus photographs of assorted pages, dust jackets, and Gardner memorabilia.