Morrissey's Finest Literary Moments

As readers and fans in the US rejoice that Moz's memoir AUTOBIOGRAPHY will finally be available on December 3, 2013, we'll spend the final weeks with a review of the books that have inspired Morrissey's life and work.

Neither Romantic poet nor Irish Nobel Prize winner stands a chance against Morrissey's beloved Oscar Wilde.

Via mhpbooks.com

"Keats and Yeats are on your side, but you lose, because Wilde is on mine," declares Morrissey, in his classic response to plagiarism accusations.

Shelagh Delaney's provocative play "A Taste of Honey" was the inspiration for several songs, including This Night Has Opened My Eyes.

"I've never made any secret of the fact that at least 50 per cent of my reason for writing can be blamed on Shelagh Delaney"

-Morrissey

Speaking of cemeteries, Morrissey's Sweet and Tender Hooligan checks in with The Book of Common Prayer.

Via us.penguingroup.com

"In the midst of life, we are in death, etc."

Morrissey knows that men love Jane Austen too.

In a 2007 issue of the LA Weekly Morrissey replied to the question "I love Jane Austen. She's a genius. Do you agree?" with "Oh, good grief, yes."

Sister, He's a Poet

Via wifflegif.com

"No reason to talk about the books I read, but still, I do."

He knows his Penguin Classics. The opening lines from How Soon In Now? were inspired by a line from George Eliot's Middlemarch.

Via us.penguingroup.com

No literary reference available for leaving a club alone and in tears.

He's not ashamed to admit that Emily Brontë can make him cry.

Via images.wikia.com

As confessed in the April 1994 issue of Q magazine.

He's read James Witcomb Riley...and you probably haven't.

Via media.tumblr.com

Morrissey recreated an image of James Dean reading the same book from LIFE Magazine in his Suedehead video.

He can quote Slaughterhouse Five, while reminding us that there are few things better than a great book.

Via izquotes.com

Vonnegut's famous line "There's more to life than what you read in books," was referenced in Handsome Devil.

He'll publish his memoir Autobiography his way.

Via userserve-ak.last.fm

"You shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way."