Who is the most influential male writer?

Question

This is a companion piece to my other question.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080614094102AAYtuQ6&pa=FYd1D2bwHTHzJbliEus9R6R3piwu_mCldnwNhyx.NwJk.Q--&paid=asked&msgr_status=

Who is the most influential male writer in history? Why do you think he is the most influential? If possible post some links to his works.

Thank you!

Answer 1

I would say William Shakespeare is the most influential writer in history.

Answer 2

micheal morpurgo i think

Answer 3

This guy Jesus and his friends wrote a h**l of a great fictional peice a few years back

Answer 4

Sun Tzu.  The man lived 2,500 years ago, and his text, "The Art of War" still has a remarkable impact on those who read it.  Napoleon Bonaparte, General Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, possibly Ulysses S. Grant.  It was written in a way that it can be applied to almost any field of study or competition.  Myself, I have applied it with excellent results in my Martial Arts.

Answer 5

Dosteyevski - Crime and Punishment. Or any lenghty Tolstoy-his explanations are better than any sleeping pill!

Answer 6

I'm with Zucchini and Travis on this one.

Also Raymond Carver, Dostoyevsky, Dickens, Lovecraft, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (on a cultural level, these guys are massively influential) and Poe.

Answer 7

I don't wish to offend, but how could anyone POSSIBLY think that Steven King was the most influential male writer in history...?

Obviously William Shakespeare was the most influential individual writer.  Jesus wasn't a writer, and the Bible was written by dozens of different people in several languages over hundreds of years.  

Having said that, the Bible has undeniably been an enormous influence on English literature.

Shakespeare's contributions to the English language and influence on world literature have been copiously documented by many people in many places.

Sorry if I sound pompous, but any educated person will know this [not meaning you, Christine!]

Other huge influences were Geoffrey Chaucer, Dr Johnson, John Donne, and William Blake.  

(My PC's playing up, so sadly I can't give you links.)

Answer 8

as a writer myself, Stephen king and Chuck Palahnuik inspired me the most. Good ole' Chuck really inspired my style of writing.

EDIT: Zuchini:

um i wasn't saying that Stephen King is the most influential writer in history. i said that to me, as a writer, he inspired me. i like his stuff, started reading it when i was very young and it made me want to write. it's a personal thing. he really is a wonderful writer if you really read his stuff-not just his books, but his shorts, his essays, etc. people just assume he isn't good because he is so prolific.

so, please, realize that not everyone is inspired for the same reason or by the same people.

oh, and i am educated. i know that Shakespeare was/is influential on a broader scale, but to me in my personal life, not so much.

i really am getting a bit miffed....

Answer 9

Hahahahahaha.....thank you for providing the impetus for the most hilarious answer I have seen in weeks. Jesus...a historical and factual writer...just when you think they can't be making Christians any dumber....gasp...choke...ha.

Answer 10

steven king

Answer 11

Again, there are so many!

Shakespeare is definitely my favorite writer of all time.

Other important male writers in different fields are Orson Scott Card, Alan Moore, and Stan Lee. One of my personal favorites is Albert Camus.

Then in terms of poetry, there's William Blake, Arthur Rimbaud (who is AMAZING!), Verlaine...

It's interesting that my responses to this question are different from your first; most of the authors I've listed write science fiction/fantasy or are French writers.

Answer 12

Yeah Jesus is my first thought for factual and historical writing  but there is also Mahatma Ghandi and Henry david Thoreau. Good luck with the paper.