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1. #1 posted by Eroom Nala

   

   Well the greatest dead writer would have to be Shakespeare I suppose.
   Glad to find Stoppard in the top 4.
   He may be British but he was actually born in Czechoslovakia.
   Likes to describe himself as a bounced Czech.
   His original birth name isn’t very British

   Tomá? Straussler

   Mar 9th, 2007

2. #2 posted by Eroom Nala

   

   PS his new play sounds interesting

   http://www.radio.cz/en/article/80581

   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_’n'_Roll_(play)

   Mar 9th, 2007

3. #3 posted by John

   

   I fixed one of your links, an apostrophe threw it off.

   These lists are always problematic since they’re usually about favourites and popularity rather than quality. Stoppard is a rare example of a playwright getting a look in, usually people only consider fiction writers in polls like this. Poets, playwrights, essayists seem to be cast as lesser beings.

   Mar 9th, 2007

4. #4 posted by Eroom Nala

   

   Very true
   1001 Books you must read before you die doesn’t include a single play or book of poems or essays.

   Mar 9th, 2007

5. #5 posted by Abel Diaz

   

   Alan Moore. Not only is he Britain?s greatest living writer, he is the greatest writer of the English language with blood still pumping through his heart. I can’t understand why The Guardian would even need to ask this question. They should have simply announced the answer: Dear everyone, Alan Moore is Britain?s greatest living writer. There is nothing to discuss. We just thought you should know.

   Mar 14th, 2007

6. #6 posted by John

   

   Alan is on my list, certainly. Along with the New Worlds crew–Moorcock, Ballard and M John Harrison–and probably Iain Sinclair for his essays. Just don’t ask me to pick a favourite. None of these people featured in The Guardian story, of course.

   Mar 14th, 2007

7. #7 posted by Andy McDuffie

   

   I wouldn’t presume to know the answer to this question. In fact I doubt an answer is findable or even desirable. Like John above, I have a lot of admiration for M John, Moorcock, Sinclair, Moore & Ballard. I also think Christopher Priest is still grossly and criminally under-rated.

   Mar 30th, 2007

8. #8 posted by Tim Williams

   

   Alan Moore. Not only is he Britain’s greatest living writer, he is the greatest writer of the English language with blood still pumping through his heart. I can’t understand why The Guardian would even need to ask this question. They should have simply announced the answer: Dear everyone, Alan Moore is Britain’s greatest living writer. There is nothing to discuss. We just thought you should know.

   Seconded!

   Apr 2nd, 2007

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