Which writer had the greatest beard? » MobyLives

Which writer had the greatest beard? The Telegraph is running a slideshow of the twelve greatest author beards. While most of the beards on their list are remarkable, we were a little miffed that some of the truly great bearded wordsmiths were left off. Certainly any of the following beards should oust Salman Rushdie from the list. How could they not? How could we not? Herman Melville codified 25 different styles of beard and was a tremendous beard evangelist. The thought of shaving his beard left him in quite a state, as evidenced in this passage from “White Jacket”: “This beard has been caressed by the snow-white hand of the lovely Tomasita of Tombez—the...