Sure, I’ll put Piers Anthony on my list.
If I put Piers Anthony on my list, does that mean he will die and stop writing books? Cuz that’s tempting…
I wondered when the penny would drop for somebody…
I really liked Piers Anthony when I was in high school, his earlier stuff. But as his stuff started to slide I just wanted to shake him and yell “STOP IT!! You are ruining my good memories!!”
I don’t really want him to die, though. Just stop writing.
George Orwell. I’d have to take him around modern London and Albion in general, and get his reactions to how the world has changed since his death. His essays reveal a very intelligent mind indeed.
Robert Heinlein.
Frank Herbert, I have been really intrigued by some of his thinking for a very very long time.
Lope de Vega would be interesting. I like Quevedo’s works, but I think he may have been too nasty in person.
lines up for St Luke and Tolkien
That could be interesting. Have you read any of his non SF stuff? Like The White Plague or Soul Catcher? He had a unique perspective, to be sure.
The previously mentioned Tolkien and Lewis, as well as H.L Mencken and John Steinbeck.
Earl Thompson - “A Garden of Sand”, “Tattoo”, “Caldo Largo”, “The Devil To Pay”. Enormously love these books - he died early.
VCNJ~
I’d like to add John Lennon and Helen Keller to the list.
Ah, but would Emily Dickinson have wanted to meet you? She was pathologically shy and used to hide in her bedroom when visitors came to the house.
That said, there are two things you can do to “meet” Emily: make a pilgrimage to her house in Amherst, Masachsetts. It’s one of the better literary shrines I’ve ever visited, and is worth the trip. It gives you an intimate glimpse into her life. More information at
http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/
Or. if you can, catch a production of the Tony-winning play about Emily’s life, The Belle of Amherst by William Luce.
and Anne Frank
Philip K. Dick, absolutely. I doubt that I would have committed myself to writing if I hadn’t discovered him. My political and personal outlook have totally changed as a result of reading his writings. I’d go so far as to say that PKD has had a major impact on my life and I would love to sit down and pick his brain.
(Actually, I wrote PKD a fan letter before I found out he was dead. The first book I read of his was an old copy that was probably printed before he died. I was devastated when I went online to find his address and found out he had died twenty-plus years before. I would at the very least like to give him the fan letter.)
It might be interesting to meet L. Ron Hubbard if only to ask what the hell he was thinking.
Heinlien and Asimov. Plus Kenneth Roberts and James Michener. Roberts and Michener were were both prolific historical authors whose books and lives always fascinated me.
Albert Camus
I think Dr. Seuss would be an interesting fellow to talk to. From what I’ve read of him, he was a very down-to-earth individual who just happened to come up with out-of-this-world ideas. I like that idea.
Ed McBain.