25 Legendary Literary Feuds, Ranked | Literary Hub

But first, some rules. In order to qualify as a literary feud, both parties must be literary authors in their own right (no editor-author squabbles), and the argument must be two-sided-that is, there should be at least one exchange, two shots fired. No simple unremarked-upon bad review or unacknowledged shit-talking will suffice. For instance, Bret Easton Ellis's bizarrely vicious attacks on David Foster Wallace in the years after his death don't rate, because Ellis is just trolling. As far as I can tell, Mark Twain simply bullied Bret Harte, who kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. The Rick Moody/Dale Peck incident-already toeing the line as Peck, while a novelist, is arguably better known as a critic-devolved into a publicity stunt. I wouldn't count Hans Christian Andersen overstaying his welcome at Charles Dickens's house a feud, no matter how bad his manners. Same goes for Rimbaud and Verlaine's gun-toting lovers' quarrel...