The first literary writer I really liked was Mark Twain. I got a hold of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and the Prince and the Pauper right after I first learned to read. Now that I'm old enough to understand satire, they are even better.
Mr. Lucifer I only speak English fluently. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of my French. Luckily, there are many great translators out there. By the way, I second Intuition's selection of Bergman's films. However, I think that Wild Strawberries or Fanny and Alexander are his greatest works. However, Smiles of a Summer Night is hilarious and Seventh Seal is really amazing as well. Cries and Whispers is a little weird in parts, so I'd hold off on that one.
To my mind, the authors that could use more exposure are mostly Oriental. In Persian literature there's Firdawsi, Rumi, Hafez, Nizami, and Jami. In Sanskrit there's Vyasa, Valmiki, Jayadeva, Kalidasa, Bhartrhari, and Kabir. In Chinese there's Li Po, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Wang Wei, Cao Xueqin, and Luo Guanzhong. In Japanese there's Basho, Murasaki, and Akutagawa. From the West, Tasso, Leopardi, Racine, Cavafy, Becquer, Carducci, and Georg Buchner are quality names rarely heard on these boards.
Could you give some recommend great writers you feel need more exposure?
