A Mentor:

[billy]

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

it can be someone living or dead but must be a real person. don't pick god or merlin etc.

[Keith]

Lassie, for the influencing and communication skills and Skippy, for sound advice and direction

I aslo think Robin Williams could be quite a guide.

[Todd]

As far as poetry goes: Louise Gluck or Mark Strand.

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For life, that's much harder to say.

[billy]

i'm surprised at gluck and strand as i've never heard of them i'll give them a look up

i'm not surprised that someone with a nic of TimeOnMyHands picked lassie, skippy and willimas
can we remember what forum we're in please. unless lassy and skippy could be classed as poetry aids

I think Tolkien was a brilliant lingiust, he virtually created fictional languages, and use english to create three of the best book ever written (arguably (not 'the' best but some of the best)) i would have loved to have had him as a one to one mentor for two or three years in my youth.

[Leanne]

Billy, I'm surprised at you. Surely you've read Skippy's rime coo-ee -- he's very good at the tail rhymes. Lassie's not so hot -- the last one she wrote was a howler.

I'd pick Walter Scott -- not a bad poet, on the whole, but the selling point is that just about every pub in Edinburgh has a plaque saying "Walter Scott drank here". Sounds like he'd have been quite good to follow about for a while.

[just mercedes]

Charles Dickens - to learn how to write social commentary without stepping on toes, to tell a story without referring to it, and to retire as author into the very back background and not appear in my writing.

[Keith]

Ohhh that kind of Mentor, Ok then I would choose Clive Barker for the journey's and the destinations and for the glimpses of real world magic

[billy]

what surprises me is that i don't know most of those mentioned, except dickens of course, i have heard of scott but know nothing of him. and who's clive barker i was expecting all the well known names. while dickens was very Dickensian, he was a great observer seeing as he's the only one i know i can say 'good choice'...i shopuld have read more i think

[Keith]

what surprises me is that i don't know most of those mentioned, except dickens of course, i have heard of scott but know nothing of him. and who's clive barker i was expecting all the well known names. while dickens was very Dickensian, he was a great observer seeing as he's the only one i know i can say 'good choice'...i shopuld have read more i think

Clive Barker is an english (scouse) author primerily, who always adds poetry to his books, The Great and secret show, cabal, Weavworld, Imajica and more recently a trilogy called Abarat, Film wise you may know Pin Head from Hellraiser this was from his first book called the books of blood or hell bound heart, I also really admire Mike Harding for his quick witted lines and use of northern accents and of course John Cooper Clark whos style I enjoy and repeat.

[billy]

yes i've read them all

what genre does he write. i'll read some of his blurbs to see if i could be interested

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yes i've read them all

what genre does he write. i'll read some of his blurbs to see if i could be interested i reread your post, i'm not into hell raiser type stuff.

[Arriedo]

I actually have an awesome mentor now I wouldn't trade for the world, but if i could study under anyone it would more than likely be Poe.

[arbil_poieo]

Mine would be Kahlil Gibran. His writing is unique to me and inspiring with good ideas.

[Leanne]

I love Kahlil Gibran, Ash.

"Wisdom ceases to become wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek out other than itself".

[brandontoh]

Mark Twain! He'd mold me into a snarky bastard. =)

[serge gurkski]

Berryman (poetry) and Burgess (prose).