question of the day

Yesterday, we learned superlatives & comparatives in my Serbian class. My teacher asked us questions. The Greek teenagers were asked about the world's most beautiful people. The Swiss art student named the best painter. In that class, I am the bookish one, so my question was:

'Who is the best American writer?'

And I was totally stumped. After a long pause, I settled on Mark Twain. My teacher argued for Edgar Allen Poe. He even recited part of The Raven in Serbian. It even rhymed.

I'm still not satified with my answer. I've been pondering it as I walk around town. I asked a few other Americans & still haven't come up with much. Faulkner (who I haven't read), Dickinson, Alcott, Emerson, and Thoreau were all suggested. I realized that I haven't read much of the American Literary Canon. Many of my favorite authors are not Americans: Rushdie, Orwell, Gordimer.

If I was asked the question again, I would say Steinbeck. But I still wouldn't be satisfied. I feel like I am forgetting someone.