The Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights and Poets of All Time

[trishtrash]

For those of you wondering ‘who decides these things?’, the list below is from the book The Literary 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time (Checkmark Books/Facts On File, Inc.: New York, 2001), written by Daniel S. Burt

Comments

[cat63]

1 William Shakespeare [X

[edith_jones]

Hemingway I can take or leave - he's okay, with spurts of utter brilliance, but Lawrence? Ah, he's one of those writers that I saved until later in life as he looked quite dull and then I read him [Sons and Lovers, specifically], and it was like the world starting anew. One of the best books ever. I could feel what summer in England in childhood must be like. He amazed me. Then again, people tell me that Faulkner is wonderful and the books I've read by him are akin to being tortured on the rack; we're all so different.

[cat63]

I was made to read Lawrence at school, which probably didn't help - I think we did Sons and Lovers when I was about thirteen and a bit young to appreciate any good qualities therein.

He is very good as evoking a stifling emotional atmosphere, I'll give him that, but he always seems to me to labour his points until I want to yell, "OK,OK, I get it already!". I know I complain sometimes about writers who don't give enough clues, but there's giving clues and then there's hitting the reader over the head with a 20lb sledgehammer. Repeatedly. :-)

[velvetcreme]

1 William Shakespeare [x

[beckalex]

1 William Shakespeare [x

[birdgirl78]

1 William Shakespeare [x

[catyah]

:: hangs my head in shame ::

I have read SO FEW of these authors that I'm not even going to admit it.

:: skulks away ::