So everyone knows that Germany, Russia, England, The United States

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>>7623940
>The United States

Argentina comes to mind.

Hungary

Argentina

>>7623976

The only Argentine author that I've heard of is Ernesto Sabato. Any you would recommend?

>>7623983
Haven't you heard about this man called Jorge Luis Borges? Also a lot of writers who aren't that known in the foreign, but Cortázar is really respected though I don't really like him. Juan Filloy, Arlt, Bioy, Macedonio F., and many more.

>>7623940
Čapek is good, but personally I'm not really a fan, but yes, Czech literature is pretty great.

on topic: Poland, seconding Hungary and Argentina, Swiss probably, Austria for some authors.

>>7623983
not the anon you were asking, but anyway: Arlt, Saer, Di Benedetto, Onetti (obviously Borges, but everybody knows him)

ireland has a good claim to the best per capita contribution to literature

japan does well

china is absolute garbage on a quality to volume /population basis

>>7623996
Oh shit, I forgot Borges was Argentine. Duly noted.

>>7623999

He's not my favourite Czech author either, but he's probably the most famous one.

>inb4 Kafka

>>7623999
Hey, can you give me some Czech recs?

>>7624023

Not the person you asked, but:

The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek

I Served The King of England by Bohumil Hrabal

War with the Newts by Karel Capek

China.

>>7623949
I want to cuddle with Marianne, Karina, Seberg, Nico, Sedgwick and Twiggy, all at the same time. Late 60s had the best waifus.

>>7624018
>inb4 Kafka

I don't consider him Czech, same goes for Rilke and others. They were living here, spoke Czech etc, but their language was German (une littérature mineure as Deleuze and Guattari said).
btw, I thought that Hašek was most famous one, or Kundera (but I don't consider him Czech anyway).

>>7623940
South America minus Brazil has 210,000,000 people in 2015.

Spanish South America has created far more masters of literature than they have any right too considering the historic lack of stability and the hugely impoverished and uneducated sectors of the population.

>>7624037

I agree about Kafka. People in the Czech Republic don't seem to think of him as Czech either.

You may be right about Hasek. Personally I heard about Capek first and always had the impression he was considered slightly more esteemed. But I could be wrong.

Don't know whether I would call Kundera a Czech author... his early novels are, but his newer stuff isn't even translated into Czech because he hates his homeland.

How has no one said Italy yet? Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Lampedusa, D'Annunzio, Eco, Calvino..

>>7624028
china is probably the worst country in the world in terms of quality to volume/population ratio.

>>7624060
meh, i think you just named them all.

>>7624051

But aren't most great works of literature produced by the elite anyway? Or if nothing else, people who are at least literate. Not that I necessarily disagree with you about South American literature.

Interesting too that lots of people have mentioned South America but nobody has said anything about Spain.

>>7624023
Depends on what you're looking for.

If you want something like Tristram Shandy or Catch-22, go for The Good Soldier Svejk.

If you want something modernist, stream of consciousness etc, go for Hrabal, unlike >>7624026 I'd recommend Too Loud a Solitude and Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age.

If you want something more postmodern, then go for Michal Ajvaz (he's too fucking good, and as really nice guy when I met him)

Czech surrealists were great, surely Nezval, Štýrský.

If you want a philosopher, influenced by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, then Ladislav Klíma, everything he wrote is wonderfull.

then there are Gruša, Jedlička (there is his book to be released pretty soon, named after first verse from Dante's Divine Comedy), Topol (City Sister Silver, drugs and Prague in early 90's, sick stuff); Ouředník (Europeana is beatiful); Deml.

For poets, if you believe in translated poetry: Holan, Halas, Reynek.

At the moment not really sure what's translated and what's not.

>>7624065
Pirandello muhfugga
Verga, di Giacomo, Alvaro, fenoglio, gadda , moravia

>>7624060

I wouldn't class Italy as a small country, at least when it comes to literature.

>>7624058
>his newer stuff isn't even translated into Czech because he hates his homeland

It's more complicated, there are continuously being released his essay and he choses and translates by himself. The thing is, if I'll put it as simple as possible, that he want's to translate all of his stuff by himself, because he's saying only himself is capable of doing so, but he does not have time for that, since he's checking every fuckin translation of his that's being released.

>>7624060
>>7624072
Guys, you forgot Italo Svevo.

But I'd count Italy as big country, as well as France, neither of these was mentiond in OP, but there was the 'etc'.

>>7623949
>>7623976
Definitely Argentina should be up there after the great powers.

US and Russia are second tier literary nations desu. UK and France are the clear #1 and #2.

What's about with Spain and philosophy? I was told years ago by a teacher how even say, Kant was heavily filtered/censored.

I also dont seem to see any notable name.

>>7624017
What are some good Irish pieces?

Romania

Hellas

>>7623940
Zimbabwe

Norway

Italy

>no one said Iceland

Srsly guyz? The Sagas are major works, translated in many languages, and best of all: they're actually read by people.

Turkey.

>>7623940
france

>>7624324
Chicken

>>7624318
the sagas count as norwegian senpai

>>7623949
>Argentina comes to mind
It really doesn't

>>7623940
Hungary, Italy and Argentina as already mentioned.
And Ireland of course.

>>7624006
currently reading Onetti, how come he's not more mentioned everywhere?

On the Argentina topic, what does /lit/ think of Cesar Aira?

>>7623940
Italy
Calvino, Eco, Svevo, D'Annunzio, Dante, Trevisian and others who i've forgotten.

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My country

South america and Spain,
really spanish speaking peole like zaramago, marquez the way they write is fantastic,i cannot pinpoint a country of all the hispanic to be the best in literature,but i find there is no match in quality per population, to any other countries.

>>7624060
>>7624065
>>7624072
>>7624764

Tasso, Campanella, Bruno, Leopardi

>>7623940
>united states

>>7623940
>not making a direct reference to france, the country of the best lit, explicitly
>this is a fuck up no other way bout it

>even included usa
>nigger you wh8

hungary produces a few decent ones as well, ireland obv too,

>>7624070
Klíma is interesting, but his prose isn't really that good. His essential work is The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch - if you read this, you read it all.

>>7623940
Kirgisistan has actually some quite beautiful literature.

France! Cmon guys.

>>7625307
>>7625080
>outside the major powers
>smaller nations

France is already a given

>>7625080
>can't into basic english
>thinks he knows about English, US,or Irish literature
cringe tbqh

spain
switz/Austr
Hung
ice/den/nor/swe
french-writing blacks often from colonies/former colonies (senghor, cesaire etc..)
Argentina, iran

>>7625341
>spain
He said lesser countries senpai, Spain is one of the major ones for literature.
>Hung
Recommendations?
>ice/den/nor/swe
lolno
>french-writing blacks often from colonies/former colonies (senghor, cesaire etc..)
lolno
>Argentina,
lolno
> iran
True,

I would add Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Japan

I'd gladly try reading Hungarian books.
From what I remember, a Belarusian writer was given a Nobel literature prize. Has anyone read it?
As for the other minor states... Poland had a few good writers. "Ferdydurke" is great.

>>7625350
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3636.20th_Century_Hungarian_Literature

>ice/den/nor/swe
lolno
>french-writing blacks often from colonies/former colonies (senghor, cesaire etc..)
lolno

you're an idiot.

>>7625390
>good reads
>calling anyone else an idiot
Kek

>>7624942
>zaramago

anon confirmed for fag. Its Saramago and he is from Portugal.

>>7625399
he asked for a list of hungarian books. Good reads has plenty of users making various lists going from inane to interesting.

Ultimately, the website does not make a reader great, the reader himself has that responsability.

>>7625417
Goddamn your prose is shit.

>>7625422
Who are you?
The resident Creative Shitposting advisor? Get lost you fool.

>>7623940
Japan

Iran

Portugal

Turkey

Mexico (contemporary isn't that good though in my unqualified opinion)

Poland

>>7625435
Don't ever fucking reply to me again unless you plan to contribute to the discussion at hand.

Would the US even be on that list if they weren't currently the worlds biggest soft power?

>>7625545
Yeah, the US government is using its super power status to promote its literature.
>tfw will never be this retarded

>>7625559
I'm not saying that the US government is performing emergency book drops in Madagascar. I'm saying that maybe some authors are more relevant because of American media being so prevalent around the world.

>>7625444

>impotent rage

>>7625578
well no shit, sherlock

>>7623983
Silvina Ocampo is definitely one of the most underrated writers from Argentina. Check out NYRB's translations of her short stories, you won't be disappointed.

>>7624193
Joyce

>>7625172
From what have been translated? Possibly, beside that Velký román, a lot of short stories, his diaries and letters and so on. He wrote huge amount of stuff.

Albania has a great author: Ismail Kadare and also I like a greek one Nikos Kazanxaqis
>>7623940

>>7625752
g-good one

>>7624193
joyce
beckett
yeats
shaw
swift
wilde
o'brien (o'nolan)
o'connor
lewis (kek)
stoker
banville
etc.

but desu just by virtue of yeats/joyce/beckett ireland's contribution to literature is amazingly outsized