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Donald Barthelme's 81 Books Essential for a Literary Education

The list has a somewhat illustrious heritage. Compiled by postmodernist writer Donald Barthelme for his students at the University of Houston, it then made its way to Barthelme's student, Southern writer Padgett Powell. The list then came to Moffett when he was a student of Powell's at the University of Florida.
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1
At Swim-Two-Birds (Flann O'Brien)
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien
2
The Third Policeman (Flann O'Brien)
The Third Policeman
Flann O'Brien
3
The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel (Isaac Babel)
The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel
Isaac Babel
4
Labyrinths (Jorge Luis Borges)
Labyrinths
Jorge Luis Borges
5
Other Inquisitions (Jorge Luis Borges)
Other Inquisitions
Jorge Luis Borges
6
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7
Correction (Thomas Bernhard)
Correction
Thomas Bernhard
8
Nog (Rudolph Wurlitzer)
Nog
Rudolph Wurlitzer
9
Gimpel the Fool (Isaac Bashevis Singer)
Gimpel the Fool
Isaac Bashevis Singer
10
The Assistant (Bernard Malamud)
The Assistant
Bernard Malamud
11
"The Lady of the Lake" by Bernard Malamud
"The Lady of the Lake" by Bernard Malamud
12
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
13
Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
Under the Volcano
Malcolm Lowry
14
Malloy, Malone Dies, the Unnamable: A Trilogy- Samuel Beckett
Malloy, Malone Dies, the Unnamable: A Trilogy- Samuel Beckett
15
Hunger (Knut Hamsun)
Hunger
Knut Hamsun
16
I'm Not Stiller
I'm Not Stiller
17
Man in the Holocene
Man in the Holocene
18
Seven Gothic Tales
Seven Gothic Tales
19
Gogol's Wife and Other Stories
Gogol's Wife and Other Stories
20
V (Thomas Pynchon)
V
Thomas Pynchon
21
The Lime Twig (John Hawkes)
The Lime Twig
John Hawkes
22
Blood Oranges (John Hawkes)
Blood Oranges
John Hawkes
23
Little Disturbances (Grace Paley)
Little Disturbances
Grace Paley
24
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (Grace Paley)
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
Grace Paley
25
I, Etc. (Susan Sontag)
I, Etc.
Susan Sontag
26
Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle
27
The Hero With a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell)
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell
28
Henderson the Rain King (Eugene Henderson)
Henderson the Rain King
Eugene Henderson
29
The Coup
The Coup
30
Rabbit, Run (John Updike)
Rabbit, Run
John Updike
31
The Paris Review Interviews (Various)
The Paris Review Interviews
Various
32
How We Live (L. Rust Hill)
How We Live
L. Rust Hill
33
Superfiction (Joe David Bellamy)
Superfiction
Joe David Bellamy
34
Pushcart Prize Anthologies (The Pushcart Prize Editors)
Pushcart Prize Anthologies
The Pushcart Prize Editors
35
The Writer on Her Work (Janet Sternburg (Editor))
The Writer on Her Work
Janet Sternburg (Editor)
36
Manifestoes of Surrealism
Manifestoes of Surrealism
37
The Writings of Robert Motherwell (Robert Motherwell)
The Writings of Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
38
Against Interpretation (Susan Sontag)
Against Interpretation
Susan Sontag
39
A Homemade World (Hugh Kenner)
A Homemade World
Hugh Kenner
40
George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters (George Sand and Gustave Flaubert)
George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters
George Sand and Gustave Flaubert
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