Thread: Underrated Writers

There are many great writers that get the attention and respect they deserve, however there are just as many others who are clearly underrated and deserve more. One writer who I never hear mentioned in school, by friends or anyone I've communicated with, is Thomas Wolfe. His novel Look Homeward, Angel, is absolutely incredibly.The language he uses is absolutely beautiful and the story he tells matches it. A true great American novel and novelist.

Who would you all consider an underrated writer?

I think James Clavell falls into that category. His Asia series are all potentially classic literature. Shogun is a brilliand read and King Rat contains some brilliant character studies. As well as being an excellent author he was also a great screenwriter and director.

Rudyard Kipling, he tends to be thought of as an 'amusing' read, he is, but some of his short stories are among the best crafted things I have ever read. Some of the later ones, where he was trying to be accepted by the British Literary establishment are a little forced admittedly. In terms of full length books "Kim" is up there with the very best, despite being looked on as a children's book.

Originally Posted by Baron

I think James Clavell falls into that category. His Asia series are all potentially classic literature. Shogun is a brilliand read and King Rat contains some brilliant character studies. As well as being an excellent author he was also a great screenwriter and director.

Definitely agree on Shogun. Haven't read the others.

John Collier. Fredric Brown. Cyril Kornbluth. Charles Beaumont. Curt Siodmak. Richard Matheson.
Except for the last, the general reading public has no clue who they are. The last three did a lot of work in Hollywood and have had huge influence on popular culture. All of them are/were masters of the short form and competent as novelists as well.
Other unremembered masters include David Goodis, lost in the shadows of Hammett and Chandler, and George Alec Effinger, whose illnesses meant that he couldn't always utilize the fullness of his talent.
And let's not forget O. Henry, a name unfortunately unfamiliar to a large segment of the general reading public, who should not be lost in the mists of time.

I was thinking of Collier. One that might seem funny to mention is William Gibson. Considered a "mere" SF writer, a "steampunker"... but actually a writer who blends gimlet-eyed precision with beautiful verbal and visual lyricism and artlessly drops piercing observations of society and human condition every couple of pages.

I have a hard time thinking of Thomas Wolfe as unknown and ignored, but would certainly say that about some of the world's great writers who are available in excellent translations and barely a blip on the screen on the American lit establishment. Witold Gombrowitz, Italo Calvino, Yasunari Kawabata, Jaques Prevert and Jules Supervielle and Georg Trakl among poets.

Well, I just feel Wolfe is overlooked when considering who his contempories were such as Faulkner and Hemingway. I personally think Wolfe is the best from his generation, which I know is quite a statement. Hemingway is completely overrated.

Except for the last, the general reading public has no clue who they are.

A slight clue, didn't Kornbluth co-write "Needle" with Pohl? Forty years or so since I read it, but it made a strong impression at the time.