American National Author

[cuppajoe_9]

In response to the great controversy surrounding who, exactly, gets to be the national writer for the United States in my other thread (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19833), (and in honour of my seven-hundredth post) we're going to have a vote on the topic. The vote, if nobody minds, will be restricted to Americans (by which I mean, people who think I spelled 'honour' wrong). The candidates, in the interest of fairness, will be aranged according to an alternative alphabetical order (t h e q u i c k b r o w n f x j m p s v l a z y d g). Polls will be closed in two weeks' time. Let the most culturally influential man win!

[Logos]

It's not a public poll though so hard to tell if only Americans have voted.

[Virgil]

Great idea for a post Joe. I'm rather curious what people think here too. My instinct is to pick a 19th century author because one of the criteria for a national author is being formative in the development of a literature, and so the earlier the writer wrote the more influential he could be. That would mean Twain or Whitman because of their huge influence. And between those two I would have picked Whitman. Melville would also be a good choice but he had only one great novel. I picked Faulkner despite him being in the 20th century. He's certainly by far the greatest and most influential of the 20th century. He stands as the Mt. Everest amongst lower hills. And I believe over time when the distance between 19th and 20th centuries shrinks, Faulkner will stand out by far.

[Mark F.]

As I'm not American I won't vote but it seems strange that the country with the youngest History is the one with the most writers contending for the "national author" spot. What's that due to? Maybe America hasn't yet grown enough to look back upon it's cultural History as European countries have had time to do? Or is it yet again the sheer size of the States that leads it to having so many geniuses? I guess we'd have as much trouble trying to figure out who's the main European author.

Is there an author who'd stand out as representative of the Southern states and another one for the Nothern ones?

[Virgil]

As I'm not American I won't vote but it seems strange that the country with the youngest History is the one with the most writers contending for the "national author" spot. What's that due to? Maybe America hasn't yet grown enough to look back upon it's cultural History as European countries have had time to do? Or is it yet again the sheer size of the States that leads it to having so many geniuses? I guess we'd have as much trouble trying to figure out who's the main European author.

Is there an author who'd stand out as representative of the Southern states and another one for the Nothern ones?

No to that last question. We are one nation.

As to you're first part, it makes perfect sense. The younger the nation, the less time it has had to reach a consensus on this.

[cuppajoe_9]

It's not a public poll though so hard to tell if only Americans have voted.

Oops. Oh well, I think we're all comfortable with the honour system (there's that word again...).

[ShoutGrace]

It took Whitman so long to be accepted . . . how influential was he back when he was writing? He had to self publish different editions of "Leaves of Grass" and it never did sell very well. Only one dominant writer supported it, and even then it was only privately (speaking of Emerson).



I guess we'd have as much trouble trying to figure out who's the main European author.

Exactly . . . but doesn't Shakespeare still rule? Maybe that's a different thread. ;)


Is there an author who'd stand out as representative of the Southern states and another one for the Nothern ones?

Virgil, we may be one nation, but isn't Faulkner conspicuously more representative of the South than the others on this list? Steinbeck more of the western aspect of America? Or, as a verb, in his own words, "westering?"

As it concerns this thread, it isn't important . . . but as far as Mark F's question is concerned, I think that there are definitely authors who represent Southern states more than Northern ones.

I'm leaning towards Faulkner, though I fear that I don't have a good enough historical grasp of these author's influences . . . that can be a hard thing to appraise, short of having an Encyclopedic knowledge of American literature and society throughout history.


Let the most culturally influential man win!


A lot of countries have one particular writer who is widely considered the 'official' writer of the country, either because he or she is considered the best or the most influential or the most representative of the national spirit, or just the best known.


Just for clarity, which one are we going for? All?

[cuppajoe_9]

You should vote for whomever you consider America's national author, using whatever critera you please. The 'culturally influential man' line was a lame joke on my part and should be ignored.

[Virgil]

I guess we'd have as much trouble trying to figure out who's the main European author.


Homer, Virgil, or Dante.

[Virgil]

Virgil, we may be one nation, but isn't Faulkner conspicuously more representative of the South than the others on this list? Steinbeck more of the western aspect of America? Or, as a verb, in his own words, "westering?"


Well, Twain is a regional author too. and so is Melville. Whitman is more universal, but he too raves about his Brooklyn and Long Island roots. We are a large country. Just about all authors have a regionality to them.

[Jtolj]

Jokingly: We are not supposed to have national because the federal government has to remain imparcial on all but issues of safety and legalities.

We don't even have an official language. It's all about states rights.

But privately, though, I would say that I am for Twain. Say what you will of his writing, but he found the idea of the common American man and explored it man any other known of his era and he was funny and dressed cool.

[Virgil]

How come we can't see who voted for whom? Why is this a secret poll?

[ShoutGrace]

But privately, though, I would say that I am for Twain. Say what you will of his writing, but he found the idea of the common American man and explored it man any other known of his era and he was funny and dressed cool.

He also had a larger moustache than Faulkner, it must be conceded.

[cuppajoe_9]

How come we can't see who voted for whom? Why is this a secret poll?

Because I forgot to check a box somewhere along the line. Sorry.

[ShoutGrace]

Just about all authors have a regionality to them.


Which is part of what makes them interesting, right? :D

[Virgil]

Which is part of what makes them interesting, right? :D

Yes, definitely. :)

[Logos]

Because I forgot to check a box somewhere along the line. Sorry. And the forum software doesn't allow admin changes to polls once they're posted so I can't edit it either to change it to a public poll but as you say I guess we can hope people will follow your request.
Or... you can start a new topic/poll and I can close this one :)

[Virgil]

If you start another i would replace J.D. Salinger, who wrote a nice book, but nothing great, with Ralph Ellison, the great African-American novelist. He wrote an incredible novel called Invisible Man. He deserves to be in the great catagory.

[cuppajoe_9]

And the forum software doesn't allow admin changes to polls once they're posted so I can't edit it either to change it to a public poll but as you say I guess we can hope people will follow your request.
Or... you can start a new topic/poll and I can close this one :)

That'll work. I'll get the new one up as soon as I can.

[Virgil]

And Henry James also deserves recognition.