Well, another Thursday is upon us, and that means it is time for yet another Booking Through Thursday prompt. What will it be this week, you ask? Here you go…Prompt: Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Brontë, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?
This is an interesting question, as I have to think that there are current authors worthy of the same praise and caliber that the Austens, Dickens and Twains are now experiencing. After all, I am a grad student in literary students with a focus on Contemporary American Literature. How can I not think such a thing? So, who would it be? John Steinbeck immediately jumps to mind … after all the man is almost there as it is, The Grapes of Wrath was first published in 1939 and is 70 years old this year. Add to that such classics as Of Mice and Men and East of Eden and—yes—I think that Steinbeck will be read for years to come. Stephen King also comes to mind. He’s a very talented storyteller, and is so vastly popular, that I believe that he is this generations Edgar Allen Poe. (Though, I have to think that he will be read 100 years from now because if he’s not, all the work and research I am doing right now will be for naught.) Definitely Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most timeless and important novels of the Twentieth Century. Others? Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Charles Johnson and Don DeLillo come to mind, as do Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, J.K. Rowling and Annie Proulx also come to mind.
3 comments:
Great selections - the caliber of writing in contemporary literature is very high, I think, and you've named some authors who are definitely among the best.
Annie Proulx! Good pick. I didn't include her on my list, but I could have. She would fit into my criteria. As would some of your other choices.
what a question and not one I would think to answer. I do like the authors you choose so maybe there is help for me yet.
love your rating system.
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