I was tagged by Geoffrey to name 25 who have influenced my writing. There are some you might find surprising, but I thought of it carefully (with the help of my bookshelf) and came up with the following:1. Richard Wright
2. Paul Laurence Dunbar
3. Ishmael Reed
4. James Baldwin
5. Jean Toomer
6. Langston Hughes
7. Ernest J. Gaines (pictured above)
8. Fydor Dostoevsky
9. August Wilson (Playwright)
10. Octavia Butler
11. Toni Morrison
12. Zora Neale Hurston
13. John Henrik Clarke
14. Sterling Brown
15. Irwin Shaw
16. John Donne
17. William Shakespeare
18. Oscar Brown Jr (Singer/Songwriter)
19. Edwin Torres
20. Clifton L. Taulbert
21. Curtis Mayfield
22. William Faulkner
23. Bill Withers (Singer/Songwriter)
24. Joseph A Walker (Playwright)
25. Kahlil Gibran
Honorable Mention: Jesus Christ (Holy Spirit) who is with me everytime I pick up the pen.
(Note: The names are in no particular order. Also, some of the names are song writers.)
Now, I'll have to tag 25 bloggers. Here's my list:
Barbie's Rants-n-Raves
Conscious Thought
Get Zapped~Pearls of Wisdom
Lessons Learned
Mwabi's World
NML is Tired of Men
A.E. Roman ~ Writer
CapCity
Cathy Delaleu~Poet
Kei's Revelation
Kofi Conde
Lovebabz
NosTheGameToo~Poet
Poetic Pin
Pop Musicology
The Trials and Tribulations of Jenelly Bean
Torrance Stephens
Uncle David's Poetry
Urban Butterfly~Poetry
Yasmeen Christian
Soul Aperture
Sugar-n-Spice
The Fulfillingness of Nina
Wandering Caravan
Bougie Black Boy~ Author
24 comments:
Both of your lists are impressive. You inspire me. :-)
im with and thanks for the love 1,6,8,13, 14
will put my list up sat
Stephen, I keep running into Baldwin, Zora, and Morrison on many of these...hmmm.
I wonder if we are on something here.
Wow, I will reply to the list soon...can't compare to yours, lol. You have a list, I have a Bible of names, but i'll shrink it to 25, lol
A very impressive list indeed! Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Talents" is still my current favorite science fiction read.
Dear Stephen, every time I visit you expand my horizons - I guess I mean every time I visit I learn more about how much more there is out there for me to learn about.
You are a skilled teacher and an encourager of learning.
Much care and many huggles, Michelle/Mickle in Wellington NZ
(sense of humour takes over with the current "word verification" offerings from Blogger - "trulc"
Have you seen this site? http://www.librarything.com? A great site to organize your collection. They are also on twitter.
Hmm, no surprises to me. All of these are great storytellers. August got a tad long-winded at the end of his play cycle but I think he's an outstanding example of how to waeve black social history into gripping stories.
Deb S.-
Cool. Are you going to make a list?
T.Stephens-
Thanks, brother.
Geoffrey-
They are just great storytellers. I think that Baldwin was a great thinker and essayist.
Cathy-
Can't wait. :)
Emil-
Yes! That's one of my favorites by her.
Mickle-
Thank you so much. That is really my goal when I post here. I always hope that the reader has something to take with them. Always a pleasure. :)
Lyre-
Thanks, I'll check it out.
FlyGirl-
I knew that I would forget someone. Your name should be on this list. Please list your 25 if you have the time.
An Interesting list, made me think of my own influences, Def Shakespearre, I love Sonnet 29, And I think of Virginnia Wolf and that beautiful dreamy feeling to her writing....that seeps through some times...
Crankyputz-
I need to read some Virginia Wolf. I'm sure that I would enjoy. Thanks and good to see you.
Hey Stephen,
Thanks for sharing your inspirations. It's quite the list! I'll have to jot mine down, thanks for including me :)
Peace.
Hello!
I feel like I haven't been over here in AGES! I catch you on twitter every so often :)
Thanks for tagging me! I wil put up my list wednesday...tomorrow :)
Your list is amazing! Good reads!
Nice list. There are some of my favorites on it.
This is my first visit to your blog. I have been tagged by RDB to participate in this meme.
I just wanted to see who was on your list before beginning mine.
1. Richard Wright
2. Chester Himes
3. Audre Lorde
4. James Baldwin
5. Patricia Highsmith
6. Langston Hughes
7. Raymond Chandler
8. Dostoevsky
9. August Wilson
10. Octavia Butler
11. Toni Morrison
12. Zora Neale Hurston
13. Gwendolyn Brooks
14. Piri Thomas
15. Cervantes
16. F. Scott Fitzgerald
17. William Shakespeare
18. Alice Walker
19. Toni Morrison
20. Ernest Hemingway
21. Alex Hailey
22. William Faulkner
23. Aesop
24. Chinua Achebe
25. Dashiell Hammett
What a wonderful list, friend. Can't wait to do this. Thank you. : )
PS: #25 Bliss.
Stephen, please stop by my site at your convenience to pick up your award.
Getzapped-
my pleasure. I'll have to come and look.
Lovebabz-
I know. We'll have to do better. Plus, I need to post more.
MsLadyDeborah-
Welcome. I will come visit you as well. Thanks.
Alex-
Good to see you. Thanks for the list.
Christina-
Yes, I love his writings.
Deb-
Thanks again. :)
Stephen
Thanks for the plug. Whpld you like me to send you a copy of my new book? Email me with address
David
That's Whould
David not a p
lazy hands gone
astray on the keys
all day been
spiting run and cola
Twenty five!
I'm glad you have Nora Zeale Hurston in that list.
GG-
Ms. Hurston is a must. I really love Gibran's writing style. I mostly enjoy his parables.
Everyone seems to have listed Baldwin. You and I both tagged Barbie, so maybe she'll do the meme ... ?
I'm late, I'm late...oh, I'm slumming for being so late! But I'm about to do this meme right now and post it. Thanks for thinking about me!
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