J. e. Luebering - The 100 Most Influential Writers of All Time

THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL
WRITERS
OF ALL TIME

THE BRITANNICA GUIDE TO THE
WORLDS MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

EDITED BY J. E. LUEBERING, MANAGER AND SENIOR EDITOR, LITERATURE

Published in 2010 by Britannica Educational Publishing

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in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC

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First Edition

Britannica Educational Publishing

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J. E. Luebering: Manager and Senior Editor, Literature

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Introduction by Chris Hayhurst

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The 100 most influential writers of all time / edited by J. E. Luebering.1st ed.

p. cm.(The Britannica guide to the worlds most influential people)

ISBN 978-1-61530-096-9 (eBook)

1. AuthorsBiography. 2. LiteratureBio-bibliography. I. Luebering, J. E. II. Title: One
hundred most influential writers of all time.

PN451.A15 2010

809dc22

[B]

2009029207

On the cover: The influence of William Shakespeare, considered the greatest dramatist of all time, has spread far and wide and transcends the ages. Getty Images

Photo credits: www.istockphoto.com/Vetta Collection.

O pen a bookany book. In it youll find words, of course, but look closely and youll also find art, crafted, in detail, by a writer proud enough to sign his or her name to the work. In a book, or in any piece of writing, words are joined together at the whim of the author. Sentences are created, paragraphs and stanzas formatted, chapters built, and stories told. In a book or a poem, a play or a short story, everything is there, on the page, for a reason: To show, to tell, to convey a message. Most works of writing, quite simply, are meant for reading. The great ones, however, by the most talented and ingenious authors, are for study. In such worksThe Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, Hamlet, by William Shakespeareits the art one finds within that sets them apart from the rest.

So how is it possible to whittle down a list of influential writersartists of the written wordto just 100 people? Thats the challengemaking choices, based on the evidence, and to ultimately compile a reference that does its best to envelop world history and disparate cultures, varying values, and regional tastes. Many individuals included in this compilation, including the three mentioned above, are paradigms of English literature. Others, such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Aristophanes, hail from ancient Greece. Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, a Russian writer of the early 1800s, is a founder of modern literature in that country. Leo Tolstoy, also of Russia, was a novelist, essayist, and dramatist, and is most famous for his novel War and Peace, considered by many to be one of the greatest books ever put into print. The 13th-century Sufi poet Rm is known today as a musically influenced master on subjects like mysticism, love, and spirituality.

The sheer panoply of nationalities represented in this book, as well as variances in style and theme, brings up an interesting question. Can Lu Xun, the founder of modern Chinese literature and a huge influence on Communism in that country, rightfully be compared to someone like Emily Bront, the English novelist who is remembered for writing one great masterwork, Wuthering Heights? Perhaps, but their spheres of influence are so differentBronts in the English-speaking world, Lu Xuns, for the most part, in China and the Eastthat a direct comparison would certainly be difficult. Writers are influenced by the places in which they live and the cultures in which they are steeped. They are all greats, and they all have had influence on their respective readerships.

As the title of this book indicates, all those featured in this collection are influential. Through their work, theyve reached out to the masses, touched the hearts and souls of millions, and left their mark on the world. But how exactly is influence defined in this case? Perhaps its the ability of one person, through his or her writing, to change the way the world thinks. Jack Kerouac is a prime example. Kerouac, an American writer and the literary leader of the so-called Beat Generation, achieved instant fame when his second novel, On the Road, was published in 1957. Kerouac typed the book on one long scroll of paper. Written like a jazz piece, it seems spontaneous and improvised, a fluid and furious work of art that could almost be read in one long breath, cover to cover.

On the Road captures readers imaginations, takes them for a ride, spins them around, and makes them dizzy. It paints a picture of America like no other novel before it. Whats more, the book has dared countless readers to explore the world themselves, to take to the road, either literally or in their imaginations, just like Sal Paradise, the books narrator.

Perhaps a writers influence is determined by timeless prominence, the ability to remain relevant hundreds of years after initial publication. Several of the authors in this book fit that bill, particularly Jane Austen. Her penned explorations of everyday life in middle-class England are timeless classics primarily because her characters have many of the same foibles, and become embroiled in many of the same situations, as contemporary citizens the world over in the present day.