The Top 25 Writers: 10-6

September 21, 2006


Twenty-five people or groups. Twenty-five of my favorites. Of my most revered. These twenty-five entities would make up my dream cocktail party. They would write the story of my life in twenty-five brilliant chapters.

They have taught me how to read, to write, and to understand the power of the written word.

10. Tony Kornheiser
Personal Defining Work: Ten years of Washington Post columns
I listened to Fox Sports radio in St. Cloud. When Kerrie and I moved back, I had to switch to ESPN radio. The first voice I heard was Tony Kornheiser, a man I knew only from his show Pardon the Interruption. He was funny, and he didn’t talk about sports all the time. In fact, he refused to interview sports stars because, well, they tended to be unbearably boring. Instead, he interviewed sports columnists, journalists, and broadcasters. He was the thinking man’s sports writer, and I discovered his work through the radio. I devoured every column collection I could. He was an inspiration – I suddenly wanted to be a sports journalist, and I even pretended to be one for a day. Not bad for a balding, orange-ish crank from D.C.

9. Art Spiegelman
Personal Defining Work: Maus
For someone that grew up in the 80s and 90s, I had little comprehension of what the Holocaust was. I knew that it had happened, and that Hitler was bad, and that a lot of girls read The Diary of Anne Frank while growing up. But that’s where it ended. Then, before I read Elie Weisel and before I saw Schindler’s List, I read a graphic novel that opened my eyes. Art Spiegelman’s Maus. Two books worth of fascinating narration about the Holocaust, brought down to a basic level. It overflows with emotion and power, and it’s all brilliantly illustrated with common animals in a way that strengthens the idea of Germans (as cats) seeing the Jews as an expendable race; as a problem they were bred to hunt down.

8. David Sedaris
Personal Defining Work: Me Talk Pretty One Day
I feel like such a New Yorker apologist putting Sedaris, literature’s funny gay guy, on my list. Listen, I don’t even read the New Yorker, and the various copies I have sitting around my house are there in an effort to make myself look literarily competent. But I do read Sedaris, and he’s never failed. He’s never failed at sarcasm, at finding the connections between seemingly embarrassing and unfunny situations, or at treating his family as a band of losers, fully formed only for his satire. Sedaris has taught me everything I know about homosexual men who happen to live in Paris. He’s taught me about pierced boils, and about Christmas traditions, and he’s introduced me to a grand selection of short story writers though his own compilations. Hee hee. He’s funny.

7. Ani Difranco
Personal Defining Work: Little Plastic Castle
Emotion. Truth. The seemingly impossible slant of being a woman in a patricentric world. Ani Difranco helped me understand what women think. What they deserve. And at the same time, she helped voice the emotions that come from usually cold subjects: abortion, war, rape. But before you think of Difranco as a horrible downer, consider the strength she throws into every lyric – the sure-handedness of everything she does, the empowering words she uses to signify love. Hate. Everything. She’s our generation’s Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan – a nearly mainstream artist content with shaking the status quo, but not so narrow-minded to do it at the expense of everything else. Really, she’s the last great protest singer we’ve got.

6. Dave Eggers
Personal Defining Work: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers is a great author. He’s also a successful publisher. Often times, he’s incredibly frustrating, as when he butts into the middle of his own novel (You Shall Know Our Velocity) and does a lot to ruin the entire experience. He’s a literary author, doing it for art instead of sales, and at times he lets his art overrun an engaging and brilliant story. Because ultimately, that’s what Eggers brings to every book and every short story – utter brilliance, like he’s the smartest person in the room but doesn’t quite know how to express himself seriously. I love the guy. But I also hate him.

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Top Ten Writers — Friends and family, part one

September 20, 2006


We all have different tastes. We all cherish different writers. And this is what I love about life – its differences, and its similarities.

What do my personal friends and sometimes acquaintances think about their top-10 writers?

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Kerrie
Mrs. Black Marks on Wood Pulp

1. Ani Difranco
I’m not a huge lyric person, but Ani says it like it is… and can play a mean guitar.

2. George Orwell
I’d read a lot of the typical George Orwell books, but will always remember buying Down and Out in Paris and London in a book store/convenience store in Alnwick, England. (Jimmy, don’t forget to give it back.)

3. Toni Morrison
I had a class in college where I read 6 of her books. I’m thankful I did, because I don’t know if I would have taken the time to read them otherwise. Not because they aren’t good, but because they require undivided time. Sometimes it’s easier to just read someone like number 10…

4. Tom Robbins
I read a lot of Tom Robbins in high school. I appreciate his wacky descriptions.

5. John Irving
I borrowed The World According to Garp from someone who I worked with at Bagel Boy. I wasn’t disappointed. Actually, I still have that torn up copy of The World According to Garp. Do you want your book back James Cool?

6. John Steinbeck
East of Eden was the first book his that I read… and I only bought it because the stupid Oprah book selection jacket actually came off, thus leaving no evidence of its connection with the cult-like club.

7. David Sedaris
I first experienced David Sedaris on public radio. I make it a point to read the story about his experience as a Santa’s elf every Christmas.

8. Anne Lamott
I first read Anne’s nonfiction…. I appreciate her “tell it like it is” way of life and her honesty when speaking on spirituality and the human experience.

9. Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum mysteries)
How can I resist? When I can’t handle a book that I need undivided time for (i.e. Toni Morrison) I can always see what’s going on with my buddy Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter. Yes, this is something to read when I don’t want to think. Or, when Corey’s watching football and I’m not eating or napping.

10. Mollie Katzen (and the Moosewood collective)
The best cookbook author ever. The Enchanted Broccoli Forest was given to me by one of my bosses.

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Tammy
Mother of Black Marks on Wood Pulp

Mystery: Dennis Lehane, J.A. Jance, John Morgan Wilson, Jeff Abbott, Steve Hamilton, and of course, Agatha Christie.

Non fiction (Benedictine spirituality): Kathleen Norris, Norven Vest, Benet Tvedson (my oblate director).

Classics: Harper Lee, P.G. Wodehouse, and of course, John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath!).

Of course there are many, many more who are “my favorite author of the week” but chose these as “my ALL time faves”.

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Roberta
Noise From the Zoo
Drug and alcohol/mental health counselor/slacker/dog owner/kickballer/smartass

1. Maya Angelou
I find a lot of peace and inspiration in her words. I also love the cards at Hallmark.

2. C. S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia are great of course, but his other work is complex and thought-provoking for my simple mind.

3. Shel Silverstein
Wonderful words that are kid-friendly but hold such adult lessons

4. Judy Blume
Pure goodness…really learned to love reading from Judy Blume.

5. J. K. Rowling
Impressive and specific storylines with multiple interesting characters. She is able to encourage people of all ages to love books.

6. Tina Fey
Hilarious and brilliant woman

7. Bill Bryson
Easy ‘in between client read’ or a chapter to get me relaxed. Funny author

8. Dean Koontz
When I was younger I used to read these books and go to bed scared sh*tless. I still look at some of the books on my shelf and get goosebumps. Thrilling and mindless reads.

9. Stan and Jan Berenstain
I had/have stacks and stacks of the Berenstain Bears books. I loved the trouble those darn little bears had and the lessons that they learned. Many values/morals/beliefs can be taught by those darn bears.

10. Eminem
Guilty pleasure I suppose. I am amazed by his lyrics (not in full agreement with them obviously) but can respect his talent and ability at the same time. Plus, I hoped it would make me sound more badass after listing the Berenstain Bears!?

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Jean Nicholson
Lifelong reader, book club member, chaired The Big Read in Sioux Falls last spring; helping chair the SD Festival of Books this fall; love talking about books as much as actually reading them.

1. Ted Kooser
Poet. Each word is chosen carefully and concisely. Amazing metaphors and descriptions - Local Wonders is entrancing. Come hear him at the Festival of Books.

2. Craig Wilson
USA Today columnist. “The Final Word” - I love his writing style and his take on the everyday things in life. Looking forward to meeting him at the book festival.

3. Jon Hassler
A Minnesota novelist - loved his characters and story in A Green Journey and Dear James.

4. Barbara Kingsolver
Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible made me think about the world and our effect on it.

5. Ken Follette
This man knows how to write, whether it’s a thriller like Eye of the Needle or a historical novel like Pillars of the Earth.

6. Leif Enger
Another Minnesota novelist, who wrote Peace Like a River. I would stop reading at times just to marvel at his beautiful writing. Can’t wait for his next book.

7. Stephen Ambrose
I felt so sad when he died before finishing his trilogy. Undaunted Courage was an amazing history; my husband loved his story of the railroad even more - Nothing Like it in the World. His third was to be about the interstate highway system. Also wrote a book about male friendships.

8. Lyn Johnston
The comic strip For Better or Worse. She has me laughing and crying, particularly in Remembering Farley, the story of their sheepdog.

9. Mitch Albom
Has won all kinds of sports-writing awards, and then turned to books. Tuesdays with Morrie was the best, but I will always pick up his new book.

10. Bob Greene
Too bad he got in trouble as a Chicago newspaper columnist, but he writes great non-fiction. Our whole family loved Be True to Your School, his 1964 diary as a high school student in Ohio. Duty was a great read about the man who dropped the bomb on Japan during WWII.

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Doug Rost
Fishing With Idiots
Professional Man of Leisure

In no particular order:

1. William Blake
A great writer and social commentator of his time

2. Kurt Vonnegut
Strange, surreal, and just plain excellent.

3. Beck (Hansen)
Lyricist and all around musical genius. One of the only artists I know who can write lyrics that link humor with depth.

4. Neil Sheehan
A great history/political science writer. If you want to know about the truth and politics behind the Vietnam War, look no Further than his book “A Bright and Shining Lie”

5. Ernest Hemmingway
Need I even comment?

6. Jack Kerouac
Wrote in a way that utterly captivates, inspires, and transports the reader

7. Hunter S Thompson
Brilliant. His political analysis is usually dead on, if not a bit far-fetched. Thompson’s prose is some of the best humor writing ever printed.

8. J.R.R. Tolkien
Wow. Tolkien was a master of fiction. Add to that the fact that he actually crafted new languages for use within his worlds, as well as the sheer depth of said worlds and you have one of the best ever.

9. Ray Bradbury
An endless supply of quality entertainment, and a genuinely nice guy to boot (I’ve met him).

10. Allen Ginsberg
Defined the Beat poets. Ginsberg pushed boundaries and opened new ground for modern poetry.

Tags: Friends, Literature, Writers |

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The Top 25 Writers: 15-11

September 20, 2006


Twenty-five people or groups. Twenty-five of my favorites. Of my most revered. These twenty-five entities would make up my dream cocktail party. They would write the story of my life in twenty-five brilliant chapters.

They have taught me how to read, to write, and to understand the power of the written word.

15. George Orwell
Personal Defining Work: Animal Farm
I read Orwell at the same time I read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Needless to say, it was a pretty heavy time in my life, what with all of the hard hitting literature that I was soaking in. Orwell stood out, though, because he created parables to help illustrate the downfalls of mankind. He created a future world that expressed all of our fears; our fear of losing individuality, our fear of being cast out, and our fear of being caught doing nothing wrong. With everything, you learned a lesson – even if he’s just writing a short story in defense of English cooking or on how Charles Dickens should be perceived.

14. J. R. R. Tolkein
Personal Defining Work: The Two Towers
Have you heard of this guy? He’s apparently a pretty big deal. I mean, for years he wrote books. No, I take that back – Tolkein didn’t write books. He created worlds – everything from the climate to the languages, the interacting species to a history that most books don’t even bother to touch on. Tolkein turned the fantasy genre on it’s head and waited for the change to come out of its pockets, took off and used everything he could to develop a rich and beautiful world. There’s a reason those movies are so captivating – the story was written, and the history developed, better than any thing you can find in theatres today.

13. Jonathan Safran Foer
Personal Defining Work: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Two for two is a pretty good way to start out a literary career. By which I mean Foer has written two books, and they’ve both been amazing. Amazing in a way that made me rethink everything. You know that feeling when you finish a book, you close the cover, and you sit and think about it? For a long time? And then you realize that the book you’ve just read might be one of the best you’ve ever read and you open it again and read the last paragraph again and get goosebumps because you know exactly what the author’s talking about? Foer does that. Every time.

12. Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
Personal Defining Work: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Ignore the fact that these six people are being grouped under the same number. Ignore the fact that they wrote in duos, for the most part, and also ignore the fact that they haven’t done anything worthwhile in the past 20 years. Instead, recognize that Monty Python, as a group, redefined sketch comedy. They redefined the off-the-wall film. And they wrote so many hilarious lines that you probably don’t even know they’re responsible for most of them. From the classic Parrot Sketch to the odd and disjointed Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, this group of men has done more for British humor – and for humor in general – than anyone else.

11. Lorrie Moore
Personal Defining Work: Like Life
Just as I’ve somehow built a small career by writing a book column ripped off directly from Nick Hornby’s Believer column, Nick Hornby started his career by ripping off Lorrie Moore. Well, what better author to read, right? Right. More than anything, I love short stories, and that’s what Lorrie Moore has come close to perfecting. I could go through entire collections in a night if I didn’t feel like I was reading them too fast. With Moore, I do. She drops you into the middle of a situation. You know everything there is to know by the end of the first paragraph. There’s no stumbling around, attempting to uncover the meaning – it’s right there in beautiful prose, ready to turn and slap you in the face if you’re not ready. So get ready.

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Top Ten Writers — The bloggers, part two

September 19, 2006


We all have different tastes. We all cherish different writers. And this is what I love about life – its differences, and its similarities.

What do some of my favorite bloggers think about their top-10 writers?

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Chris Bolton
Currently writes and provides content for Powells.com. Screenwriter and filmmaker who has received numerous Honorable Mentions in various contests for his feature-length screenplays. Award-winning short film “Speed Dating” ran on the Independent Film Channel through August 2006. Also writes and performs with a Portland, Oregon-based sketch comedy group, HammerSpace.

1. Neil Gaiman
Who knows why we connect to a given writer? On some fundamental level, it’s simple chemistry — some intangible link we just can’t quantify. Merely being the writer of the “Sandman” series (one of the greatest stories ever told, in any form) would put Gaiman near the top of my list. Add to that his first-rate graphic novel collaborations with Dave McKean (Mr. Punch, Signal to Noise, etc.), the accomplished stories in Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things, and the irresistible novels Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, Coraline, and Stardust (not to mention the flawed but impressively epic American Gods) and Gaiman gets the trophy.

2. Richard Russo
There’s simply no other novelist whose work I’ve so enjoyed reading, from the hilarious Straight Man to the touching, engrossing Empire Falls. And The Whore’s Child was the only short story collection I’d read cover to cover until –

3. David Benioff
The 25th Hour was a gripping novel and a good film, but it’s Benioff’s short story collection, When the Nines Roll Over, that won me over. I’ve never been a fan of literary short fiction, but I react to Benioff’s stories the way others react to Munro or Carver. I’ve read most of the stories two or three times and find they grow richer with each revisit.

4. Scott Smith
Only two novels to his name, but when those novels are the thrillers A Simple Plan and The Ruins, he deserves a place on my list. Smith manages to combine noir and horror, respectively, with a dark eye for human nature and a gift for entangling his intriguing protagonists in situations that are agonizing and horrific — and yet, you just can’t look away.

5. Billy Wilder
He always wrote with collaborators, it’s true, but the Wilder touch is the common denominator that links the brilliant films The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity, and Sunset Boulevard. Even his lesser-known gems, like The Fortune Cookie and Fedora, are distinctively Wilder-esque.

6. Charlie Kaufman
I guess this goes without saying since Kaufman is one of precious few original voices currently working in mainstream film. As enjoyable as his clever earlier scripts were, Eternal Sunshine is a masterpiece that gets better (and more admirable a feat of storytelling) with every viewing. And the screenplay reads as smoothly as a terrific novella.

7. Woody Allen
This is the Woody Allen of Manhattan, Annie Hall, and Crimes and Misdemeanors, not the shtickmeister of recent years. Woody in top form is among the most distinctive and mesmerizing screenwriters working.

8. Aaron Sorkin
TV shows usually have a whole staff of writers, but Sorkin wrote almost every single West Wing episode while he ran the show — and when he left, it collapsed. The Studio 60 pilot suggests Sorkin may have another hit that is as enjoyable to listen to as it is to watch. Long live smart, funny dialogue!

9. Larry David
Don’t believe in the auteur theory? Just try watching any Seinfeld episode after David left. Every Seinfeld script produced during his reign has David’s imprint on it, and although Curb Your Enthusiasm isn’t scripted, per se, you can still feel David’s twisted brilliance on every carefully crafted plot development.

10. The Coen brothers — They deserve notice just for writing Miller’s Crossing, but when you add the insidiously hilarious The Big Lebowski and, of course, Fargo (along with most any other script they’ve written), they’re clearly at the forefront of the most original and captivating writers of their generation. And the next one. And the one before that.

It’s so tough to pick only ten. Even though I’m confident these are my top ten, I lament having to leave out Susannah Clarke, Steven Soderbergh, John Huston, Tom Perrotta, Art Spiegelman, Craig Thompson, Frank Miller, David Milch, early David Mamet, and far too many others to name.

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David July
Mount Sutro
Tallahassee, Florida

1. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
I was assigned The Great Gatsby to read in high school. Instead of the typical novels we were forced to consume, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting story set in the roaring ’20s filled my imagination with pictures of elaborate parties, complicated personal affairs and the eventual despair we all sometimes face. It really is a beautifully-woven tale. The other works of Fitzgerald I have sampled are good, but Gatsby restored my interest in the written word.

2. Al Franken
While probably better known for his work on Saturday Night Live, I selected Al Franken to appear on this list because of his more recent political satire. His unabashedly liberal take on our world’s affairs often rings true to me, but it is the manner in which the topics are approached that provides the most fun. Franken’s entertaining style, cunning wit and a sometimes blunt manner delightfully contribute to the final product, even if you do not agree with all his political views.

3. Stephen King
I think it just a bit strange that as a person who has no particular affinity for horror movies, let alone novels, would include the master of that genre on this list. But when the horror king produces works like Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, The Body and The Green Mile, it is impossible to not. The richness in the detail and the way King sees humanity fascinates me. Plus, the stories translate well to film; an added bonus.

4. Ira Levin
If you were to ask me my favourite novel, I would reply This Perfect Day without hesitation. The lesser known novel by the author of Rosemary’s Baby and A Kiss Before Dying contains a riveting story of a dystopian future through which we follow and learn with the main character, Chip. This is another book that I can vividly imagine, down to the cold metal cases that hold the truth, thanks to Levin’s powerful articulations.

5. Andrew Niccol
Speaking of tales from the future, Gattaca is such a compelling story to me, I read the screenplay after enjoying the film so much. There is a richness in the way the characters in Niccol’s stories are presented which I love. There is never a doubt about the quality of the people we are watching in the tales, nor do I have to think very hard to put myself in their shoes. I hope to see more from this talented writer soon.

6. Edgar Allen Poe
There is something I just like about this quirky man. It is too bad he died so early, as I am sure there were more interesting places yet to meet paper he could have taken us. Alas, the collection that does exist illuminates the minds of young and old alike and still punctuates our popular culture today.

7. Aaron Sorkin
There is nothing about Aaron Sorkin’s writing style I do not like. His portrayals of exceptionally intelligent people, complete with the flaws and abnormalities we all have, are particularly realistic to me. Sorkin’s writing leads you from point to point in a tangled overlap of plot lines, character development and overall story. But the trip is a smooth and entertaining one requiring little effort to appreciate or comprehend.

8. Roger Waters
While the presentation and musical style of Pink Floyd concept works Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall stand alone in their greatness, those digging just under the surface can read the foundation of words and see how amazingly true they ring. I am not quite sure how to represent Water’s compositional style, but suffice it to say, the words and the music both left their mark on me.

9. Herbert George Wells
While Jules Verne may be the father of what we know as science fiction, H. G. Wells’ works appeal to me more. The pioneering ideas of time travel, invincibility and science as a whole have no doubt shaped the works of today, where constant references are seen. There is nothing quite like the original, though, so I like to go back to these early works for perspective.

10. Wil Wheaton
From the time I started reading his website, Wil Wheaton has surprised me in his growth as an author. Vivid, but succinct imagery peppered with comedy that is tangibly realistic help make his work so engaging. I particularly like the diverseness in topics, from his past famous movie and television roles, to his life as a husband and father and finally, as a poker player and commenter.

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P.P.
South Dakota War College

1. Hayao Miyazaki
He’s probably better known as a director of award winning animation, but his screenplays, whether original or derivative works, are consistently entertaining and charming.

2. Stephen King
I haven’t picked up one of his novels for years, because after a while they started to get predictable and I lost interest. But his earlier works still can just grab your attention, never letting you put the book down. As a teenager, I read a massive amount of the Stand in one sitting because it just drew me in. And even in college, I would go back to his earlier stuff for entertainment.

3. Clive Cussler
I don’t think there’s a Dirk Pitt adventure I haven’t read. They’re not terribly challenging, but for an adolescent male, it was great escapist fun which has continued into my adulthood.

4. Richard Matheson
There’s a reason they’ve made I Am Legend into a movie going on three times. (Most people will recognize the story as the Omega Man.) He’s a great author and screenwriter in addition to being incredibly prolific in his writing.

5. Robert A. Heinlein
Some of his works such as Starship Troopers tend towards being militaristic, but I haven’t been disappointed with any of his books that I’ve read.

6. Joseph Wambaugh
I haven’t picked up one of his books in years, but I can still remember several of his characters from books such as The Choir Boys and The Delta Star. Great entertainment.

7. Carl Sagan
I enjoyed a couple of his more scholarly works as well as his novel, Contact. If they only hadn’t done the movie. They had the ending all wrong…

8. Rombauer/Becker
If there’s a book that I’ve absolutely destroyed from over use and abuse, it’s their book The Joy of Cooking. I think my mom gave it to my wife and I for our wedding (or early on in our marriage). And that’s the old school version. How else are you going to know how to prepare squirrel? That, and there’s literally nothing that’s impossible to cook without it.

9. John Grisham
Again, not to difficult to read, but engaging and entertaining stories. With all of the hard news I read, escapism is ok.

10. Ann Rule
Standing as an opposite to my enjoyment of escapist novels, I love true crime books. And nobody writes them better than Ann Rule. If you’ve never read her book The Stranger Beside Me, you’ve missed something.

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David
largehearted boy
largehearted radio

1. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats
Darnielle’s songs are like the finest crafted short stories. Concise and powerful, not a word is wasted.

2. Theodore Roethke
My favorite poet mixed the metaphysical with the natural to astounding success.

3. Kurt Vonnegut
“A writer for mixed up high school kids,” at least that’s what my cheerleader sister told me when I was reading him in high school.

4. Haruki Murakami
The postmodern master.

5. John Vanderslice
Talented at whatever path he chooses: songwriting, producing, social activism. He could write the great American novel if he chose to.

6. Saul Bellow
Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie March is my favorite novel.

7. Michael Chabon
From the time I read a galley of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh when I was in college, he has been my favorite novelist.

8. Flannery O’Connor
I live in the American south, and see her characters every day. An inspiration to everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Clem Snide.

9. Martin Amis
His teeth may be fixed, but his fiction and essays still have a wicked bite.

10. Larry David
The funniest writer for television. Ever.

Tags: Blogging, Literature, Writers |

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The Top 25 Writers: 20-16

September 19, 2006


Twenty-five people or groups. Twenty-five of my favorites. Of my most revered. These twenty-five entities would make up my dream cocktail party. They would write the story of my life in twenty-five brilliant chapters.

They have taught me how to read, to write, and to understand the power of the written word.

20. Bruce Springsteen
Personal Defining Work: Born to Run
Like John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie before him, Springsteen has put the land into words, and in this case music. But instead of championing the farmer and unionist, Springsteen instead wrote about the poor and destitute street kids, the purveyors of love in the dark alleys of New Jersey. He’s written passionately about being in a band, about the dream of being big while toiling in the streets, about the power that comes with owning a motorcycle, traveling around the country, and eating at a dirty diner. Springsteen is as close to the voice of the people as you can get in music. It’s pop without the gloss, punk without the angst – it’s patriotic without waving a flag and down home without forgetting to open up the whisky bottle. We’ve all had friends that fit into Springsteen songs. Because that’s what he does – he chronicles life in America.

19. Charles Darwin
Personal Defining Work: The Origin of Species
I’m a science guy. I have a degree in Biology Education. I pretend like I’m a smart kid, most of the time, but really I just know a lot about one branch of science – evolutionary theory. I always intended to go back and get my Master’s in the subject, and I still find it an interesting topic; polarizing, yet straightforward. It started in my biology class, and more specifically, with Darwin’s work on the subject. I mean, he discovered the theory (actually, he and another guy discovered it at the same time, but Darwin published it first) and he was the movement’s poster child, obviously. So his writing has always stuck with me.

18. Tim Kasher
Personal Defining Work: Cursive’s Domestica
Cursive is a band that I saw very early in its life. Then, they broke up for a while. When they came back, singer Tim Kasher had constructed an entire album about his agonizing relationship and his messy divorce. And it was brilliant – the best-written concept album since Tommy. He wrote about the pain of living a lie, the shock of realizing it, and the understanding that comes with giving up. From there, he has written some of the most introspective lyrics ever penned by a guy who looks more like a gas station attendant than a rock and roll singer.

17. Michael Chabon
Personal Defining Work: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
It’s hard to point out what’s so good about Chabon’s work, just as it’s hard to remember the proper pronunciation of his name (it’s Shea as in Stadium, Bon as in Jovi). However, it must be done. I could talk about the Pulitzer Prize winning Kavalier and Clay, where he followed the lives of two young boys as they grew up, started a comic book, became famous, and began a twisted love triangle while one ended up in some frozen tundra. Or I could talk about his quirky, yet truly mysterious, Sherlock Holmes-in-his-80s-esque The Final Solution. Or I could talk about how his short stories are painfully funny; nearly embarrassing because you fear he’s talking about himself. Hmm, I guess I can point out what’s so good about him pretty well, actually.

16. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Personal Defining Work: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Fargo is a personal favorite. But as far as writing goes, O Brother, Where Art Thou? – the Coen brothers’ remake of Homer’s Odyssey – is too brilliantly put together to not count as defining. Really, even when the Coens write and produce a bomb, it’s still good. But when they write something great – it’s great without doubt. Don’t believe me? Take a weekend and watch Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona, and The Big Lebowski. Listen to the Coens’ ability to get the sounds of an entire region dead to rights, transforming a group of actors into an extension of their location. Then try telling me they aren’t the best duo out there.

Tags: Literature, The Top..., Writers |

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Top Ten Writers — The bloggers, part one

September 18, 2006


We all have different tastes. We all cherish different writers. And this is what I love about life – its differences, and its similarities.

What do some of my favorite bloggers think about their top-10 writers?

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Todd Epp
S.D. Watch.
47, married, two school aged children, Harrisburg, SD. Lawyer, blogger, political operative, soccer coach.
B.A., English and history, Washburn University of Topeka; J.D. Washburn Law School; LL.M., University of Houston Law Center.

1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
A quintessential American story told by the quintessential American writer.

2. In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck at his most compassionate, radical best.

3. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan. The best book to explain our well-intentioned and flawed efforts through the eyes of a well-intentioned and flawed American warrior.

4. History of South Dakota by Herbert S. Schell. Want to understand South Dakota history? Then read this book.

5. Giants in the Earth by Ole Rolvag. Rolvag tells of the pioneer roots of our state and it is not necessarily a pretty picture.

6. Essays of E. B. White by E. B. White. The purest writer of American English on life.

7. Under Western Skies: Nature and History in the American West by Donald Worster. America’s love/hate relationship with its resources and its government.

8. A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. Not a single wasted word in an ode to family, fishing, and the inability to save those we love the most.

9. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. A complex novel about a complex religion in a complex part of the world.

10. Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil by Ron Rosenbaum. A history on the histories about the worst human in history. Is a Hitler born or made?

Honorable Mention: The Tyger by William Blake; Paradise Lost by John Milton; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot; Any episode of HBO’s Deadwood; Any episode of China Beach; The poems of Rumi; The poems of Maya Angelou; The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner; The poems of e.e. cummings; Citizen Kane by Orson Welles; and Shoeless Joe/Field of Dreams by W.P. Kinsella.

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Edward Champion
Edward Champion’s Return of the Reluctant

Top ten writers (right now– could change in 5 mins.)

1. James Joyce

2. William Shakespeare

3. William Gaddis

4. Margaret Atwood

5. Carol Shields

6. Gilbert Sorrentino

7. Charles Portis

8. Octavia Butler

9. William T. Vollmann

10. Charles Dickens

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The Staff at Free Darko
(in no order)

1. Barry Hannah

2. Vladimir Mayakovsky

3. Walter Benjamin

4. Vladimir Nabokov

5. James M. Cain

6. Wallace Stevens

7. Gwendolyn Brooks

8. Tom Verlaine

9. Pauline Kael

10. James Agee

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Henry Abbott
True Hoop

1. Sarah Vowell
If I had to nominate someone “most likely to evolve into the voice of my generation” little Sarah with the whiney voice would be it. She’s got the knowledge of a librarian, and she knows how to share it without being weird or confusing. That’s a storyteller’s gift.

2. Jonathan Lethem
Look, if you haven’t read Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude yet, what the hell are you doing wasting your life reading Henry Abbott, basketball blogger?

3. Ernest Hemingway
Heard of him? I can’t think of one original thing to share about Ernie, but I will say this: my favorite Hemingway by far is A Moveable Feast.

4. Dave Eggers
Yet another “Way Too Obvious” choice but you can’t really argue that pretty much everything he writes is really fun to read. And he gets a special nod from me for clearly being something of NBA fan: in You Shall Know Our Velocity he writes about someone’s having their socks “Van Horned” up around their knees. That’s inside baseball, only basketball. Also, he co-edits my favorite anthology series ever, called the Best American Nonrequired Reading. I’m at least a decade older than the target audience, but they still let me buy it at the bookstore.

5. Michael Pollan
When the media discuss politics, they tend to be critical and to have historical perspective. When the media discuss science they tend to say “Wowee neato! Robots!” Michael Pollan is leading the charge bringing intelligent discussion to important science-related topics like where our food comes from. Also, everyone should be required to read the marijuana chapter from Botany of Desire.

6. Michael Cunningham
The Hours is one of those books that my wife and I have probably bought a dozen times because we keep telling people they have to read it and then we give it to them and have to buy another one.

7. Jonathan Franzen
In case you’re not aware: Franzen pretty much wrote an essay in Harper’s saying the novel was dead, but he would single-handedly save it. Which was trash-talking madness the likes of which even Michael Jordan never attempted. But Franzen sorta delivered on the promise with The Corrections, which was splendid.

8. Bill Bryson
I realize practically everyone on this list is a best-seller, OK? I know I’m not breaking new ground. And it’s practically all white guys. Would that it weren’t so. But, look, Bryson is the truth. He’s like Sarah Vowell in that he knows more than you, and he knows how to tell it better than you do too.

9. Wallace Stegner
Crossing to Safety is my favorite, but after I read Big Rock Candy Mountain, my wife asked me what it was about, and I didn’t stop crying for 90 minutes. And I never cry. Touched some weird nerve. (Sling Blade, as it happens, touched that same nerve.) To the thing about Stegner is he’s got the fire in the belly, he’s not backing down from any fights… no sir. But he still has grace to spare.

10. Gary Smith
He might be the only sportswriter whose articles I will read no matter what the topic. When he wrote about polo, I read about polo. When he wrote about diving, I read about diving. When he writes about basketball, I fantasize about killing him so that he will stop making me look bad.

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Bill Green
Make the Logo Bigger

1. David Mamet
Glengarry Glen Ross is my absolute favorite of his, both book and film. House of Games and Oleanna as well. If you have the chance, he also has two incredible interviews on his writing process with Elvis Mitchell on the Treatment podcast here.

2. Coen Bros
Not just because you suggested it either, but while Mamet writes with great rhythm, their ear for writing regional dialect is uncanny: Raising Arizona. O Brother, Where Art Thou? Fargo.

(Eds. Note – I suggested the Coen brothers as an example for a great screen writer(s).)

3. Mark Fenske
Copywriter at Wieden + Kennedy. His blog is here and every word he writes seems to be just right one.

4. Quentin Tarentino
Micky Spillane meets Mamet.

5. Anthony Swofford
Solid columnist. Great book, Jarhead.

6. Shawn Colvin
Complicated relationship themes and a great voice to deliver them with.

7. Whoever wrote the Apple Quickstart guides
Genius actually.

8. Garry Shandling
Next to UK Office, The Larry Sanders Show may be the funniest show ever written. Performances are always key no matter what show you’re talking about, but someone still has to write it.

9. Barry Levinson
Very solid film screenwriter but my favorite is his TV work: Homicide: Life on the Street. One of the best detective shows there was.

10. Peter Gabriel/Sting/Bono
Lyrics with universal human themes. None of them ever really sing about their ex-girlfriend walking down the street the way a Tom Petty might.

Tags: Blogging, Literature, Writers |

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The Top 25 Writers: 25-21

September 18, 2006


Twenty-five people or groups. Twenty-five of my favorites. Of my most revered. These twenty-five entities would make up my dream cocktail party. They would write the story of my life in twenty-five brilliant chapters.

They have taught me how to read, to write, and to understand the power of the written word.

So let’s count them down, right?

25. Jon Stewart
Personal Defining Work: The Daily Show
Being funny and being right are usually two different streets. On The Daily Show, they converge. Jon Stewart – a forgotten talent who starred in a series of bombs before being asked to take over Craig Kilborn’s show on Comedy Central – is quietly re-writing the rules of broadcast journalism by stomping all over them. Stewart (and a band of writers who I’m too lazy to look up and write here) has created a new form of satire – the news looked at by sarcastic and clear-minded people who are tired of the same bland, safe news broadcast. People take him seriously, which is both good and bad. Good because he’s right on target. Bad because it gives talking heads more ammo for calling The Daily Show a “dumbing down of America.” Oh well – if Jon Stewart is considered “dumbing down,” then I guess I can handle it.

24. Thomas Malory
Personal Defining Work: Le Morte d’Arthur
For years I studied Arthurian legend. I soaked it up. I read about it all the time. I bought encyclopedias and reference guides. I loved it – the historical aspects of England in the Dark Ages, the thought of chivalry, and the thousands of stories that all intertwined. The characters were a hair above believable – fantasy, yet still human. And while I latched onto the legend through T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, it was through Thomas Mallory – and by extension, Carl Swanson’s British Literature class at Lincoln High School – that really drove me over the edge. I mean, here it was – the original legend, spelled out in its most basic form. I read it all, numerous times. I even bought the non-translated set. I mean, this isn’t just geeky swords and serpents stuff – this is a brilliant story with hundreds of morals. I love it, even if they can’t make a decent movie out of it.

23. Christopher Guest
Personal Defining Work: This is Spinal Tap
Christopher Guest writes screenplays. And then he directs them, telling the characters to ad-lib most of their lines. Can we really call this writing? I can – the stories the Guest devises under the “mock-umentary” guise are nearly as fascinating as anything a typical “follow the script exactly” director can muster. I mean, we’re talking about the backstage drama of a dog show (Best in Show) and the trials and tribulations of a folk reunion (A Mighty Wind). It’s about taking usually conventional things and making fun of them in a way that’s simple. Subtle, even. And regardless of whether he writes every single word that’s expressed on the screen, he’s able to work with words in a way that elicits the responses he wants. And that could be harder than writing it word for word anyway.

22. Hunter S. Thompson
Personal Defining Work: Hey Rube
Whether he was gambling or taking semi-illegal drugs, Thompson was always thinking. That was apparent in all of his books, and especially in all of his magazine articles. He invented the genre, after all, of putting yourself into the story, of taking a situation worth of news coverage and turning it on its ear with an ether-soaked rag. His political coverage made you realize just how moronic a candidate could be, while his sports columns gave an odd gleam to the idea of losing money at the horse races. Throughout it all, he stayed close to the ground. He didn’t let his fame overtake his biting wit. And that’s why we could all take him so seriously, even if he was dropping a frozen animal heart on Jack Nicholson’s front step.

21. Paul Theroux
Personal Defining Work: Kingdom by the Sea
Theroux served as stage two of my travel writing phase. And through Theroux, I realized that, when traveling, the most important things to pay attention to aren’t the monuments, churches, and shows, but the people. The people make travel worthwhile. Theroux built his writing career by examining every person he met. Every fellow traveler fell under his scrutiny. Every train conductor, vendor, and inn-keeper. In his walk around England, he didn’t just write about the landscape – he wrote about people, their reaction to the war in the Falklands, and their comments about the Queen’s simultaneous trip around the island. As far as travel writing goes, I’ll admit I started with Bill Bryson. But I grew with Theroux.

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