Your favorite writer

[Zooey]

So who is your favorite writer? Or if there's more than one, list those who used their pen (or typewriter or computer) to speak to you like nobody else seems to. And I said writer, so that includes novelists, poets, short story writers, and everything and everyone in between- basically anybody who has puts words onto paper for us all to enjoy that means something to you.

And for the sake of discussion, give a few reasons as well, even if it seems impossible to put feelings into words.


(Don't worry, mine will be on their way very soon! )

[Munro]

When it comes to writers I'm fairly scattered. I read a novel by one author and don't read another by the same one for a year or two, which doesn't give me much of a chance to develop a strong liking for any particular writer.
Except for George Orwell, who I believe is the 20th century's greatest and most important writer. He turned political commentary into an art form with Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, wrote clear, simple yet brilliant prose, and his other novels also contain sharp social commentary worth reading. His works are significant now more than they ever were. By far he is my favourite writer, and is somewhat of a inspiration for me.

[jamesting]

Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Keats, Shelley, Tolkein, and DH Lawrence

[Eric, son of Chuck]

Malory, Dumas, Pratchett, Gaiman.... Pretty eclectic, eh?

[Who Moved My Cheese]

"Except for George Orwell, who I believe is the 20th century's greatest and most important writer."

In complete agreement with Munro, Orwell's brilliance is displayed both through his style of writing, and also his incredible ability to forshadow our social and political, self-created fates. Another outstanding writer that comes to mind is Edward Albee, who's exception pieces, "The Zoo Story" and "The American Dream", have also influenced my own artistic capabilities (in terms of writing; cause I am artistically challenged when it comes to drawing).

[Admin]

John Donne is my favorite poet, I don't have a favorite novelist though.

[Ian Walkinshaw]

My name is Ian. I'm very very new at this, and I'm having a little trouble figuring it all out so bear with me. I'm a big fan of Greene, Maugham, Mishima, Oe, Forster and Conrad. If anybody would like to...I don't know, chat, or email or whatever you do, give me a yell.

[crisaor]

I prefer to speak of writings rather than writers, for obvious reasons, but here are some (no specific order): Jorge Luis Borges, Homer, Aldous Huxley, William Shakespeare, Umberto Eco, Tolkien, Alan Moore, and I'll agree with eric about Gaiman.

There are many authors I like because of one writing only, not included here.

[Zooey]

Greene, Maugham

Hey Ian. Glad you could join us here.

Haven't read anything by either of these authors, but have wanted to for a while now. Was wondering what you would recommend.

[Sofia]

My favorite writer is Selma Lagerlöf (Nobel Prize winner 1909). Her novels mix the traditional Nordic myths with psychological portraits of amazing characters. Her language is simple but yet so precise - so beautiful it makes me cry… I don’t know how many of her novels are translated into English and how easy they are to get hold of but I recommend you all to read something written by her. My favorite novels by Selma is The Emperor of Portugallia, Jerusalem (or The Holy City as it sometimes has been translated into), and Gösta Berling’s Saga.

Other Swedish writers I like (who I know are translated into English) are Vilhelm Moberg and Marianne Fredriksson.

Some novels I like written by non-Swedish writers are: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Bless me Ultima by Rudolf Anaya, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris and In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason.

And - of course - Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Woolf's To the Lighthouse, and Joyce's The Dubliners

[Shuai]

Doyle and Dumas. Robert Jordan is also a great writer in my opinion, even though he doesn't follow the trend of all the other authors mentioned above (i.e. he's not dead).

[Zooey]

And - of course - Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Woolf's To the Lighthouse, and Joyce's The Dubliners

There's are all books I've been eyeing lately. I've been told that The Dubliners is the best place to start with Joyce. Would you agree?

And there's another thread currently in GL about Samuel Beckett that you might want to check out.

[grepi]

... Mishima, Oe, ...

since you are already into japanese writes, i guess haruki murakami would be a good read...

cheers

[Robert E Lee]

[quote="Zooey"]I've been told that The Dubliners is the best place to start with Joyce. Would you agree? [quote]

Yes, Dubliners (not The Dubliners) is the best place to start for Joyce, and it's also the best place to stop: it's the only decent thing that arrogant prick Joyce ever put on paper.

[Pequod]

afterr reading A Portrait of the Artist asa Young Man I hope I never have to read any of Joyce's work again ... :x (oops did I just type that??)

ok as for writers I really do enjoy...

I am very much into the poetry of edna st. vncent millayand edwin arlington robinson. I am very fond of millay's imagery and robinson's inscrutable yet touching characters.

Dramatists I enjoy include Millay, Susan Glaspell, and Sophie Treadwell their plays offer inspiring glimpses into the lives f ordinary people, especially women. I also adore Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Arthur Miller, because while these three men have ery different styles each is able to peer away the veneer of society to expose the secret desires of their characters. I think Pinter and Stoppard are remarkably good at this as well.

Lastly, novelists:
Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad are writers I once disliked but have anew perspective on. In addition, Wilde's The Pcture of Dorian Grey, Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Cather's The Professor's House Ford's The Good Soldier, and Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. There are a million other's I have left out to be sure, but these come immediately to mind. Oh and I must reiterate, Orwell is a genius!