Literary 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights and Poets of All Time Book

Author Daniel Burt has compiled a compelling assessment of the 100 most influential novelists, playwrights, and poets throughout history. From Shakespeare and Dante to Zeami Motokiyo and Oscar Wilde, the entries provide a fascinating introduction to major writers of world literature. Arranged in order of the author's ranking, all of the writers chosen have helped to redefine literature, establishing a standard with which succeeding generations of writers and readers have had to contend. The ranking attempts to discern, from the broadest possible perspective, what makes a literary artist great and how that greatness can be measured and compared. Among the chosen 100 writers are: Homer, Emily Dickinson, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot, Jane Austen, Gabriel García Márquez, Herman Melville, Vladimir Nabokov, John Keats and Virginia Woolf.

Daniel S. holds a Ph.D. from New York University and has taught literature at Wesleyan University since 1989. He has also taught English at New York University and worked as a freelance editor. He resides in Middletown, CT.

VOYA

Which authors have had the greatest influence over time on how the world is perceived through literature? This admittedly idiosyncratic ranking of the top one hundred novelists, playwrights, and poets makes for a fascinating dip through history and across cultures in a reference work that manages to be both concise and filled with enticing personal tidbits of information. Starting with Shakespeare and continuing through Oscar Wilde, each two- to three-page entry gives standard biographical material supplemented with quotes and conjecture about how the writer's times influenced his or her literary output. Primarily male-dominated—no surprise there—the list includes many recognizable names but also several new ones. Murasaki Shikibu, Tu Fu, Cao Xueqin, Rabindranath Tagore, and Tanizaki Jun'Ichiro are not names that come readily to the minds of most American students and teachers, but their inclusion is in keeping with Burt's emphasis on providing readers with a look at literature comparatively across cultural and historical divisions. Perhaps more intriguing than the top one hundred list are the honorable mentions, one hundred writers who did not make Burt's first cut. Birth and death dates along with a one- or two-sentence annotation accompany each entry and extend the original list into the twenty-first century. English teachers will find this source extremely helpful in providing students with a better grasp of international authors. Students will enjoy the anecdotes and even might be moved to create their own lists. Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. 2001, Facts on File, 400p. PLB $45. Ages 16 to Adult. Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo SOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)