“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.

McCarthy was influenced by the Southern Agrarians, a group of writers and critics from Vanderbilt University, including Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom, and Robert Penn Warren. Active in the 1920s and 1930s, they advocated for a return to Southern agrarian traditions, valuing self-sacrifice, community, and family farming over modern industrialism. Their 1930 manifesto, I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition, called for a rejection of modernist culture. McCarthy adopted their belief that literature should focus on universal human experiences rather than abstract theories or historical contexts. This philosophy aligned with his later views on writing, such as his belief that proper writing should not require excessive punctuation.

McCarthy developed a strong opinion about punctuation, stating, ‘If you write properly you shouldn’t have to punctuate.’ This belief stemmed from his work editing 18th-century essays for his professor, Robert Woodham Daniel, who tasked him with re-punctuating texts. McCarthy removed many commas and other marks from Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, reducing punctuation by 21% in the published version. He believed that well-written prose should flow naturally without excessive weird little marks, reflecting his preference for clarity and directness in language. This approach influenced his later writing style.

During his time at the University of Tennessee, McCarthy studied Southern Gothic literature, a genre characterized by dark, grotesque themes and settings that expose social decay. The term was coined by novelist Ellen Glasgow in 1935 to describe writers like William Faulkner, whose works explored the South’s troubled history. Glasgow warned that excessive focus on decay could lead to cultural decline, urging writers to balance realism with hope. McCarthy’s exposure to this genre shaped his understanding of literature as a tool to address matters of life and death, rather than trivial subjects like social interactions in drawing rooms.

By 1959, McCarthy had developed a deep commitment to reading and writing, which set him apart from his peers in Knoxville. He felt a sense of purpose in creating literature that tackled profound human issues, stating, ‘I didn’t understand Proust or Henry James…that’s not literature’ to him. Despite his confidence in his writing abilities, he worried about financial stability, quoting Herman Melville’s line, ‘O time, patience, cash!’—highlighting the practical challenges of pursuing a literary career. His dedication to writing created a sense of isolation, as his family and peers in Knoxville could not relate to his ambitions.

In 1959, McCarthy traveled to California, where he encountered the Beat Generation, a literary movement led by writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Henry Miller. Kerouac’s 1957 novel On the Road became popular on college campuses, including the University of Tennessee. McCarthy admired the Beats’ confidence and rebellious spirit, particularly Miller’s, whom he credited with inspiring his own writing career. However, McCarthy did not adopt their experimental writing styles. Instead, he was drawn to their attitude toward life and their rejection of conventional societal norms, which resonated with his own experiences and aspirations.