Anecdote from NZ, all the English majors I know have read several if not all of the above authors (including one who read Ulysses 13 times after he left univers

Anecdote from NZ, all the English majors I know have read several if not all of the above authors (including one who read Ulysses 13 times after he left university). In fact I would be surprised if you could get that degree without doing so. I read a lot and I often read the author blurbs, my second anecdote is that it seems a large number of writers studied English/Literature. In addition authors often drop hints to having read the above, listing works as recommendations or influences, or dropping qoutes or allusions. Still I'm sure there are plenty who haven't read those authors, but perhaps they have read Shakespeare, Melville, Tolstoy etc.