Hemingway's Influence
At age 15 Oates discovered Hemingway's work and became enthralled with his style and ability to engage with readers in a way that created enchantment within. Oates believes that reading Hemingway's work allows readers to learn the art of creating meaningful and beautiful works of literature (Popova). Oates maintains her view that learning from Hemingway's style, attitude, and creative way of writing is one of the best ways for new writers to learn the craft of creating true literary works.
Poe's Influence on Oates
At a young age Oates began reading the stories of the great Edgar Allan Poe and enjoyed them so much that she didn't stop at just reading his works. As she grew as a writer she paid homage to Poe's dive into the darker side of literature by including his "grotesque" senses in many of her short stories (Clute). Oates has continued with her love of Poe by writing essays about him, his works of literature, and even including her own depictions of his last days in her collection Wild Nights!