[randcraw]

I think the literati of any age are a major source of bad writing, or at least, fluff. Many authors dedicate their efforts to writing stylishly, encumbering the reader to wade through excessive windy sentences and irrelevant minutia, or worse, obnoxious proselytizing. I have no love for any American writing before 1800, and little before 1900, especially the New England romanticists (e.g. Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, etc) or public men like America's Founding Fathers.

That said, the most brilliant writing I know came from the 1800s, especially the American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln, Sullivan Ballou, and popular novelists like Charles Dickens. Perhaps their extraordinary expressiveness arose because, for the first time in history, writing could be appreciated by many. Certainly authors of those times more often wrote from the heart, not just to entertain.