Literary spat-watch: Zadie Smith vs Guardian Readers

An unseemly row has erupted in that otherwise stalwart bastion of moderate and measured discussion, the Guardian blogosphere. Gently musing yesterday on which three writers deserve the accolade of "modern greats," former Observer literary editor Robert McCrum probably didn't expect his picks—WG Sebald, Ted Hughes and Zadie Smith—to be the subject of such unbridled outrage. Yet over 50 Gruniad commenters (some whom are evidently well practised at clearing their throats on the site) have so far waded in; as have McCrum, various Guardian moderators and eventually even Zadie Smith herself. Read more here.