Greatest short-story writer?

[Kyriakos]

Just a poll about a few of the celebrated names in the category.

The options are:

Guy De Maupassant

Anton Chekhov

Franz Kafka

E.T.A. Hoffmann

E.A. Poe

H.P. Lovecraft

Other

As you can guess there is some theme going on here, all of them having written mostly melancholic work. But you can chose "other" and name them if you like :)

[Kafka's Crow]

Although I voted for Maupassant, this poll assumes that we know all the short-story writers which is impossible. 'Greatest' is a big word.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I think it would be Chekhov for me, followed by Maupassant perhaps.

[mortalterror]

That's easy, Ernest Hemingway, followed by Guy De Maupassant, Flannery O'Connor, Edgar Allan Poe, Chateaubriand, Joseph Conrad, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Jack London, William Faulkner, Charles Baudelaire, Hans Christian Andersen, Boccaccio, Rudyard Kipling, Lu Xun, Jorge Luis Borges, Anton Chekhov, Franz Kafka, E.T.A. Hoffmann, H.P. Lovecraft, Feng Menglong, Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, Marie de France, Marguerite De Navarre, Vishnu Sharma, Ricardo Palma, Yuan Zhen, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sherwood Anderson, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and O. Henry.

[dfloyd]

W. Somerset Maugham for the 20th century.

[Stewed]

Anton Anton Anton Anton!

[JuniperWoolf]

<3 Lovecraft.

[Darcy88]

I went with Chekhov. If Hemingway had been included it would have been a toss up for me.

[osho]

Chekhov is such a great story writer I find the rest overshadowed by his stories.With that said however I do not want to second-rate the rest you might have voted for. I have my reasons for choosing him. I have read all the story writers you folk have voted for here and I like all of them greatly. However among these greats, Anton is insuperable since he writes so beautifully and at the same time there is lucidity, simplicity with great humor many other writers lack. His stories never exhausted me. I have read plenty of stories of James Joyce for instance, Araby, The Dead and many others, so marvelously crafted and I always envy them as a writer yet Anton is far above and beyond all these luminaries. He is simply the great story writer once among us, I mean among our literary parents and grandparents.

[Mr Endon]

I've just realised I've never read Chekhov. It feels like I've just realised my house doesn't have a roof.

(By the way, any Daniil Kharms fans?)

[aliengirl]

Anton Chekhov!

[osho]

In fact Chekhov is simply unbeatable. There are other fine storytellers like Maupassant and yet Chekhov's stories are light, full of humor and straightforward. They are short, crisp and direct.

[MarkBastable]

Runyon or Wodehouse.

[osho]

Runyon or Wodehouse.

I like Wodehouse and his sense of humor. He is amazing, kind of satirical. However I have not read Runyon.

[Arrowni]

Among those listed, Chekhov. One other very influential and master short story writter: Borges. That's the name that jumped into my mind after seeing the list.

[Emil Miller]

W. Somerset Maugham for the 20th century.

Maugham would almost certainly have chosen Chekhov who was one of his favourite writers. But I doubt that even Chekhov could have written a study in human psychology as brilliant as Maugham's 'The Outstation.'

[cafolini]

Maugham would almost certainly have chosen Chekhov who was one of his favourite writers. But I doubt that even Chekhov could have written a study in human psychology as brilliant as Maugham's 'The Outstation.'

There are many. There is no greatest among the great. Maugham is one. I like his perspective on fear of fear, which makes men brave cowards. I also like Italo Calvino, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Checkov, Mark Twain, Umberto Eco, etc., etc.

[Lokasenna]

Much as I love Lovecraft, I agree with Arrowni: what about Borges? I've fallen completely under his spell...

[cafolini]

Much as I love Lovecraft, I agree with Arrowni: what about Borges? I've fallen completely under his spell...

Borges also is great. Only disgrace was that he was argentinean and was forced to write for elites. And he could do nothing about it. Still a very fascist country. I like Borges. But the argentinean writer I like a lot is Macedonio Fernandez, a friend to Borges father. He didn't write a lot but he's worth reading.

[Arrowni]

Yeah, I've heard good stuff about Macedonio, hard to come by with his books here...

[Vonny]

Borges for me, but a close runner up is James Herriot.

[LadyLuck]

Poe is my first pick, but a lot of that is because he was one of my first good experiences with short stories. I still love many of them, and I pull him out whenever I am feeling a bit moody.

[Bustrofedon]

My vote was for the 'other'...Jorge Luis Borges.

[keilj]

Scott Fitzgerald

[JuniperWoolf]

Scott Fitzgerald

His structure is great (flawless, beautiful), but I find that his content gets a bit drab if you read a bunch in a row.

[Jack of Hearts]

James Joyce.








J

[MarkBastable]

Scott Fitzgerald

F Scott Fitzgerald













That's a suggestion, not a correction.

[CarpeNixta]

Definitely Jorge Luis Borges

[Theunderground]

Without question Poe. In fact he is the best ever writer and Poet period.

[Gregory Samsa]

Franz Kafka and J.D Salinger.

[Der Wegwerfer]

of those mentioned I voted for Poe

[smerdyakov]

Mmmmm...

Of this list I think Chekhov has to be (he is the master). Followed by Kafka perhaps. Joyce was masterful too.

[Arrowni]

Without question Poe. In fact he is the best ever writer and Poet period.

I don't see how that's possible to be frank.

[Theunderground]

It just may personal taste. Im aware its not an objective fact.

[cafolini]

There are hundreds. It even seems ridiculous to give samples. There are some very good ones in this forum that all they would need is to talk it over with a good editor. I could not overemphasize the role of an editor not only for presentation but to discuss the subject. A good editor will never take away from your meaning. He/she will strive to make it clear. Remember that, because there are also some bad ones out there. And I don't think any good writer would be dumb enough to not see the difference.

[han401]

I love Edgar Allan Poe stories, I had to choose him. However, I admit I haven't read some of the authors on this list.

[stlukesguild]

I'm admittedly something of a sworn Borgesian... but others I love include Italo Calvino, Kafka, Theophile Gautier, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, Flannery O'Conner, Augusto Monterroso, Tomaso Landolfi, Nicolai Gogol, Tolstoy, Anton Checkov, Poe, Isaac Babel, Thomas Mann, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Bashevis Singer, S. Y. Agnon, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Donald Barthleme, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, The Arabian Nights, Boccaccio, Robert Louis Stevenson, Wilkie Collins, J.S. LeFanu, etc...