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The Polymath of Pittsburgh

thenation.com · 3,343 words · saved by 2 readers

When Garielle Lutz’s name first began circulating on prediction lists for the Nobel Prize in Literature two years ago, almost no one was surprised, for the simple reason that almost no one knew who Garielle Lutz was. But for those capable of surprise in this context—Lutz’s small cult of superfans, who view her as a hero of contemporary experimental fiction—her inclusion was close to shocking. We knew her stock had risen: The release of her collected stories in 2019 had earned her the kind of lengthy critical appraisals she’d deserved for at least a quarter century. But was she really now in the same league, reputationally, as a Pynchon, a Murakami, a Can Xue? It seemed like a fluke, and yet there she was again this year, granted 33:1 odds by Ladbrokes—dead-even with Colson Whitehead and slightly higher than Louise Erdrich. The conditions would seem ripe, in other words, for a true Lutz breakthrough, a rapprochement between her and the literary mainstream, which has typically demanded t

The Polymath of Pittsburgh --> The Polymath of Pittsburgh Garielle Lutz is one of America’s great writers. Why has her literary genius gone unnoticed? Daniel Kolitz January 28, 2025 Facebook Twitter Email Bluesky When Garielle Lutz's name first began circulating on prediction lists for the Nobel Prize in Literature two years ago, almost no one was surprised, for the simple reason that almost no one knew who Garielle Lutz was. But for those capable of surprise in this context-Lutz's small cult of superfans, who view her as a hero of contemporary experimental fiction-her inclusion was close to s

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