Favorite Authors

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I'm making this topic as an attempt to brink all talk about authors under one roof, although I still encourage contribution to topics such as "Fantasy Authors." This was a thread back on the old website - one which I did not have the pleasure of participating in - and I would very much like to give it a second life here, if possible. Besides, we could always use more discussion.

I'd say the rules are still the same as on the old thread: respond with names of authors, some things they've written, why exactly you like them, and how they've influenced you. Don't feel confined to just one genre or even that some genres need not apply. Is there any nonfiction voices that you find particularly interesting? How about poetry?

Now I know a few of Raven's choices, as he's spoken of it before, so he doesn't need to repeat it if he doesn't feel like it (that doesn't mean he's not free to participate, of course), but if anyone else is interested, I'd be more than happy to hear from you.

NOTE: I hope you don't take this as isolating you, Raven. You don't have to repeat yourself if you don't want to, but if you want to join in the spirit of conversation for the heck of it, you're always welcome. It IS your site, after all. Feel free to tell me if I'm being too repetitive with my topics.

[Raven]

W. G. Sebald influenced me, although I've only read one of his works: Rings of Saturn. I think it may have been one of my first real literary introductions to travel narrative, and his unique use of photographs in the text was really captivating for me. The work is basically the author walking through part of England and musing on it as he went. I still love books like that, and I have tried to write some pieces like that myself (and have tried to imitate his use of photographs in non-fiction as well).

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I know I'm going to end up repeating a lot of what I've already said before, but I don't mind, since there seem to be some new users here, and there may be more on the way.

I guess I don't read much nonfiction, at least in book form. I have a lot on my Amazon Wish List, though; I'll get around to it eventually. Actually, come to think about it, I am rather fond of books on writing.

Ray Bradbury is one of my ultimate favorite writers; I haven't read too much, but what I have has been nothing short of enchanting. There's just something about the way he writes that's real personal, like he's able to make the impossible real and sum it up in everyday experience. It's sort of a mystical naturalism.

Another comparatively recent find for me has been Stephen King. I really gotta say, I'm a fan of his work. He's more frank and crude than I'm accustomed to, I'll admit, but he's a good storyteller nevertheless. One has to understand that this is how some people actually talk outside of a rather sheltered environment. I can't really say that his work scares me - I don't think horror actually scares me, per se - but I read it to be amazed by the uncanny. He also has some great advice on writing in his classic guide/memoir, On Writing, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in the craft.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Well, having experienced them recently (two of them, at least - I was already certain about one), I can say that I'm extraordinarily fond of the Dark Romantics of American literature: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. I remember in high school listing them as "Transcendental Pessimists" in comparison to the more optimistic Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman; I haven't really read much of those three, but I'm sure I'll get around to it.

Basically, these authors are more attuned to my own sensibilities, being craftsmen of eloquent prose and moody philosophical insight that is more acknowledgeable of the darker side of mankind. They tackle the issue of sin natures without denying them and manage to turn out good stories in the meantime.

Poe is the master of Gothic horror, though it would be foolish to simply restrict him to that category; he really perfected the short story form for American audiences. Hawthorne looks back with criticism but not completely without sympathy on the Puritan past and its fascination/obsession with sin and purity, ably giving voice to conflicting passions. Melville is a wordsmith of nearly unparalleled talent, and it's such a shame that he was underappreciated and neglected in his lifetime; his work is well-informed, pulling from a multitude of literary and historical resources, creating a sense of an enchanted corpus.