Obviously everyone here is a huge fan of Buk's, but do you consider him your favorite writer? How about just poet? Short story writer? Novelist?
If not, who are your favorites?
I definitely consider him to be my favorite poet.
For short stories my holy trinity, so to speak, would be Hemingway, Carver, and Buk. I'm not even sure if I can pick a favorite out of them, though I think Carver had a bigger impact on me when I first got into him. The sparsity and intensity of his prose hooked me from the beginning. Buk, to his credit, never fails to entertain. I've got South of No North and Hot Water Music, and when I got them I tore through them in a days time. He is the master of being both hilarious and intense, sometimes both at the same time.
I don't think I could pick a favorite novelist. I have, however, enjoyed every Buk novel I've read(all of them except Factotum). I don't think I would pick a Buk novel as my *favorite* novel, but I also can't think of any other writers at the moment who have the same batting average as Buk in my eyes. I love a lot of Hemingway's novels, but he also had a lot of not so good ones.
This might be a weird/silly thread, and if it is I do apologize. Just trying to get some discussion going.
If not, who are your favorites?
I definitely consider him to be my favorite poet.
For short stories my holy trinity, so to speak, would be Hemingway, Carver, and Buk. I'm not even sure if I can pick a favorite out of them, though I think Carver had a bigger impact on me when I first got into him. The sparsity and intensity of his prose hooked me from the beginning. Buk, to his credit, never fails to entertain. I've got South of No North and Hot Water Music, and when I got them I tore through them in a days time. He is the master of being both hilarious and intense, sometimes both at the same time.
I don't think I could pick a favorite novelist. I have, however, enjoyed every Buk novel I've read(all of them except Factotum). I don't think I would pick a Buk novel as my *favorite* novel, but I also can't think of any other writers at the moment who have the same batting average as Buk in my eyes. I love a lot of Hemingway's novels, but he also had a lot of not so good ones.
This might be a weird/silly thread, and if it is I do apologize. Just trying to get some discussion going.