“If You Write Properly You Shouldn’t Have to Punctuate.” Was Cormac McCarthy That Guy in Your MFA?

In 1957, Cormac McCarthy returned to the University of Tennessee after serving in the U.S.

Air Force.

He found the campus and city of Knoxville unappealing, describing it as undernourished and resistant to change, unlike his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.

McCarthy struggled socially and academically, feeling out of place among students from New Jersey and Hoboken.

He re-enrolled under the GI Bill, which provided financial support for veterans, and wandered between departments, taking courses that interested him, including physics, engineering, and writing classes.

His writing instructor, Robert Woodham Daniel, played a key role in shaping his approach to literature by emphasizing practical writing skills over literary theory.