The Tunnel Reader Archive

Between April 2025 and may 2026, we took our readers on a damnable dig through the dark heart of William H. Gass’s masterpiece, The Tunnel. Through a series of new and archival essays, we sought to contextualize Gass’s masterpiece and reignite the conversation (and debate) around it. Contributors included Michael Silverblatt, Joy Williams, John Darnielle, Bradford Morrow, Katherine Packert Burke, and Gass himself, plus many others. Read all of their illuminating essays by following the links below.

Designing the Tunnel by William H. Gass

Selected Correspondence by Arthur M. Saltzman

A Small Apartment in Hell by Michael Silverblatt

Sweets, an excerpt from The Tunnel, by William H. Gass

A Girandole for Mr. Gass by Bradford Morrow

Second is Last by Richard Watson

Time to Eat Our Vegetables by James Webster

The Tunnel in the Age of Bad Men by A.V. Marraccini

Hiding from History by Katherine Packert Burke

On The Tunnel for Dalkey Archive Press by Joy Williams

Guilt and Innocence in America by Max Lawton

Big Books: An American Story by John Darnielle