richard brautigan

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Richard Brautigan

ContentsArticles

Richard Brautigan 1A Confederate General from Big Sur 8Trout Fishing in America 10In Watermelon Sugar 12The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 14The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western 16Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery 18Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel 20Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 21The Tokyo-Montana Express 22So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away 23An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey 25The Galilee Hitch-Hiker 26All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace 27Please Plant This Book 28The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster 30Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt 31Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork 32Revenge of the Lawn 33

ReferencesArticle Sources and Contributors 34

Article LicensesLicense 35

Richard Brautigan 1

Richard Brautigan

Richard Brautigan

Born Richard Gary BrautiganJanuary 30, 1935Tacoma, Washington, United States

Died ca. September 14, 1984 (aged49)Bolinas, California, United States

Occupation Novelist, poet, short story writer

Nationality American

Genres FabulationBlack comedySatire

Literarymovement

Postmodernism

Notable work(s) Trout Fishing in America (1967), In Watermelon Sugar (1968), Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery (1975),The Tokyo-Montana Express (1980)

Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 ca. September 14, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and shortstory writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. He is best known for his 1967 novel TroutFishing in America.

Early lifeBrautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington, the only child to Bernard Frederick "Ben" Brautigan, Jr. (July 29, 1908 May 27, 1994) a factory worker and laborer, and Lulu Mary "Mary Lou" Keho (April 7, 1911 September 24,2005), a waitress. In May 1934, eight months prior to his birth, Bernard and Mary Lou separated. Brautigan said thathe met his biological father only twice, though after Brautigan's death, Bernard was said to be unaware that Richardwas his child, saying "He's got the same last name, but why would they wait 45 to 50 years to tell me I've got ason?"[1]

In 1938, Brautigan and his mother began living with a man named Arthur Martin Titland. The couple produced adaughter named Barbara Ann, born on May 1, 1939 in Tacoma. Brautigan claimed that he had a very traumaticexperience when his mother left him alone with his two-year-old sister in a motel room in Great Falls, Montana,where he did not know the whereabouts of his mother until she returned two days later.On January 20, 1943, Mary Lou married a fry cook named Robert Geoffrey Porterfield. The couple produced adaughter named Sandra Jean, born April 1, 1945 in Tacoma. Mary Lou told Brautigan that Porterfield was hisbiological father, and Brautigan began using Richard Gary Porterfield as his name. Mary Lou separated fromPorterfield in 1946, and married William David Folston, Sr., on June 12, 1950. The couple produced a son namedWilliam David, Jr., born on December 19, 1950 in Eugene. Folston was recalled as being a violent alcoholic, whomRichard had seen subjecting his mother to domestic abuse.Brautigan was raised in poverty; he told his daughter stories of his mother sifting rat feces from their supply of flour to make flour-and-water pancakes.[2] Because of Brautigan's impoverished childhood, he and his family found it difficult to obtain food, and on some occasions they did not eat for days. He lived with his family on welfare and moved about the Pacific Northwest for nine years before the family settled in Eugene, Oregon in August 1944. Many of Brautigan's childhood experiences were included in the poems and stories that he wrote from as early as the age of

Richard Brautigan 2

12. His novel So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away is loosely based on childhood experiences including an incidentwhere Brautigan accidentally shot the brother of a close friend in the ear, injuring him only slightly.On September 12, 1950, Brautigan enrolled at South Eugene High School, having graduated from Woodrow WilsonJunior High School. He was a writer for his high school newspaper South Eugene High School News. He also playedon his school's basketball team, standing 6 feet 4inches tall (1.93 m) by the time of his graduation. On December 19,1952, Brautigan's first published poem, The Light, appeared in the South Eugene High School newspaper. Brautigangraduated with honors from South Eugene High School on June 9, 1953. Following graduation, he moved in with hisbest friend Peter Webster, and Peter's mother Edna Webster became Brautigan's surrogate mother. According toseveral accounts Brautigan stayed with Webster for about a year before leaving for San Francisco for the first time inAugust 1954. He returned to Oregon several times, apparently for lack of money.[3]

On December 14, 1955, Brautigan was arrested for throwing a rock through a police-station window, supposedly inorder to be sent to prison and fed. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and fined $25. He was then committed tothe Oregon State Hospital on December 24, 1955, after police noticed patterns of erratic behavior.At the Oregon State Hospital Brautigan was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and clinical depression, and wastreated with electroconvulsive therapy twelve times.[4] While institutionalized, he began writing The God of theMartians, a manuscript of 20 very short chapters totaling 600 words. The manuscript was sent to at least two editorsbut was rejected by both, and remains unpublished.[5] (A copy of the manuscript was recently discovered with thepapers of the last of these editors, Harry Hooton.) On February 19, 1956, Brautigan was released from hospital andbriefly lived with his mother, stepfather, and siblings in Eugene, Oregon. He then left for San Francisco, where hewould spend most of the rest of his life except for periods in Tokyo and Montana.[3][6]

CareerIn San Francisco Brautigan sought to establish himself as a writer. He was known for handing out his poetry on thestreets and performing at poetry clubs. In early 1956 Brautigan typed a three-page manuscript and sent it to TheMacmillan Company for publication.[7] The manuscript consisted of two pages of fourteen poems and a page withthe dedication for Linda. Of the poems only stars and hey were titled. In a letter dated May 10, 1956,Macmillan rejected the manuscript stating there is no place where it will fit in. In 2005 the X-Ray BookCompany would publish the manuscript as a chapbook titled Desire in a Bowl of Potatoes.Brautigan's first poetry book publication was The Return of the Rivers (1957),[8] a single poem, followed by twocollections of poetry: The Galilee Hitch-Hiker (1958) and Lay the Marble Tea (1959). During the 1960s Brautiganbecame involved in the burgeoning San Francisco counterculture scene, often appearing as a performance-poet atconcerts and participating in the various activities of The Diggers. He contributed several short pieces to be used asbroadsides by the Communication Company. Brautigan was also a writer for Change, an underground newspapercreated by Ron Loewinsohn.In the summer of 1961, while camping in southern Idaho with his wife and daughter, Brautigan completed the novelsA Confederate General From Big Sur and Trout Fishing in America. A Confederate General from Big Sur was hisfirst published novel and met with little critical or commercial success. But when Trout Fishing in America waspublished in 1967, Brautigan was catapulted to international fame. Literary critics labeled him the writer mostrepresentative of the emerging countercultural youth-movement of the late 1960s, even though he was said to becontemptuous of hippies.[9] Trout Fishing in America has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.During the 1960s Brautigan published four collections of poetry as well as another novel, In Watermelon Sugar (1968). In the spring of 1967 he was Poet-in-Residence at the California Institute of Technology. During this year, he published All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, a chapbook published by The Communication Company. It was printed in an edition of 1,500 copies and distributed for free. From 1968 to 1970 Brautigan had 23 short pieces published in Rolling Stone magazine.[10] From late 1968 to February 1969, Brautigan recorded a spoken-word album for The Beatles' short-lived record-label, Zapple. The label was shut down by Allen Klein before the recording could

Richard Brautigan 3

be released, but it was eventually released in 1970 on Harvest Records as Listening to Richard Brautigan.[11]

In the 1970s Brautigan experimented with different literary genres. He published five novels (the first of which, TheAbortion: An Historical Romance 1966, had been written in the mid-1960s) and a collection of short stories, Revengeof the Lawn (1971). In 1974 The Cowell Press collected seven of his broadside poems into the book SevenWatermelon Suns. The limited edition of ten copies included embossed color etchings by Ellen Meske.[12] "When the1960s ended, he was the baby thrown out with the bath water," said his friend and fellow writer, Thomas McGuane."He was a gentle, troubled, deeply odd guy." Generally dismissed by literary critics and increasingly abandoned byhis readers, Brautigan's popularity waned throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. His work remained popular inEurope, however, as well as in Japan, where Brautigan visited several times.[13] To his critics, Brautigan waswillfully naive. Lawrence Ferlinghetti said of him, "As an editor I was always waiting for Richard to grow up as awriter. It seems to me he was essentially a naf, and I don't think he cultivated that childishness, I think it camenaturally. It was like he was much more in tune with the trout in America than with people."[14]

Brautigan's writings are characterized by a remarkable and humorous imagination. The permeation of inventivemetaphors lent even his prose-works the feeling of poetry. Evident also are themes of Zen Buddhism like the dualityof the past and the future and the impermanence of the present. Zen Buddhism and elements of the Japanese culturecan be found in his novel Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel. Brautigan's last published work before his death washis novel So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away which was published in 1982, two years before his death.

Personal lifeOn June 8, 1957, Brautigan married Virginia Dionne Alder in Reno, Nevada. The couple had one daughter together,Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan, born on March 25, 1960 in San Francisco. Brautigan's alcoholism and depressionbecame increasingly abusive[15] and Alder ended the relationship on December 24, 1962, though the divorce was notfinalized until July 28, 1970. Brautigan continued to reside in San Francisco after the separation, while Alder settledin Manoa, Hawaii and became a feminist and an anti-Vietnam War activist.Brautigan remarried on December 1, 1977, to the Japanese-born Akiko Yoshimura whom he met in July 1976 whileliving in Tokyo, Japan. The couple settled in Pine Creek, Park County, Montana for two years; Brautigan andYoshimura were divorced in 1980.Brautigan had a relationship with a San Francisco woman named Marcia Clay from 1981 to 1982. He also pursued abrief relationship with Janice Meissner, a woman from the North Beach community of San Francisco. Otherrelationships were with Marcia Pacaud, who appears on the cover of The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster;Valerie Estes, who appears on the cover of Listening to Richard Brautigan; and Sherry Vetter, who appears on thecover of Revenge of the Lawn.Brautigan was an alcoholic throughout his adult life and suffered years of despair; according to his daughter, he oftenmentioned suicide over a period of more than a decade before ending his life.[2]

In 1984, at age 49, Richard Brautigan had recently moved to Bolinas, California, where he was living alone in alarge, old house. He died of a self-inflicted .44 Magnum gunshot wound to the head. The exact date of his death isunknown, and his decomposed body was found by Robert Yench, a private investigator, on October 25, 1984. Thebody was found on the living room floor, in front of a large window that looked out over the Pacific Ocean. It isspeculated that Brautigan may have ended his life over a month earlier, on September 14, 1984, after talking toformer girlfriend Marcia Clay on the telephone. Brautigan was survived by his parents, both ex-wives, and hisdaughter Ianthe. He has one grandchild named Elizabeth, who was born about two years after his death.According to Michael Caine, writing in the Times Literary Supplement,, the story that Brautigan left a suicide notethat simply read: "Messy, isn't it?" is apocryphal.[16] Ianthe Brautigan has confirmed that her father did not leavesuch a message.[17] Brautigan once wrote, "All of us have a place in history. Mine is clouds."[18]

Richard Brautigan 4

LegacyBrautigan's daughter, Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan, describes her memories of her father in her book You Can't CatchDeath (2000).Also in a 1980 letter to Brautigan from W. P. Kinsella, Kinsella states that Brautigan is his greatest influence forwriting and his favorite book is In Watermelon Sugar.In March 1994, a teenager named Peter Eastman, Jr. from Carpinteria, California legally changed his name to TroutFishing in America, and now teaches English at Waseda University in Japan.[19] At around the same time, NationalPublic Radio reported on a young couple who had named their baby Trout Fishing in America.There is a folk rock band called Trout Fishing in America,[20] and another called Watermelon Sugar,[21] whichquotes the opening paragraph of that book on their home page. The industrial rock band Machines of Loving Gracetook their name from one of Brautigan's best-known poems. Indie rock songtress Neko Case has also admitted tobasing her "Margaret vs. Pauline" from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood on the female characters of In WatermelonSugar. Twin Rocks, Oregon, a song appearing on singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins' 1998 platinum record Soul'sCore, tells the story of meeting a man who looks "just like Richard Brautigan" whilst watching the sunset on bluffsoverlooking the Pacific Ocean. Another lyrical interpretation might be that the encounter was with Brautigan's ghost.The Library for Unpublished Works envisioned by Brautigan in his novel The Abortion was housed at The BrautiganLibrary in Burlington, Vermont, until 1995 when it was moved to the nearby Fletcher Free Library where itremained until 2005. Although there were plans to move it to the Presidio branch of the San Francisco PublicLibrary, these never materialized. However, an agreement was made between Brautigan's daughter Ianthe Brautiganand the Vancouver, Washington, Clark County Historical Museum to move The Brautigan Library to the museum in2010.[22][23]

Kumquat Meringue is a literary journal out of Pine Island, Minnesota, dedicated to the memory and work ofBrautigan.[24]

The poem Horse Child Breakfast from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster is read to an English class bygliding champion George Moffat at the beginning of Robert Drews 1971 documentary film The Sun Ship Game.[25]

Saltpeter, a London-based theatre company, launched a year-long initiative seeking collaborators - the BrautiganBook Club (BBC) - in January 2012 with a curated performance piece, The American Forever, Etc.[26] Saltpeter'sBrautigan project features the UK premiere of Tonseisha, a play by LA screenwriter Erik Patterson.The documentary maker Adam Curtis produced a series of films for the BBC about the effect of computers onsociety called All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace.[27][28]

World renowned author Haruki Murakami cites Brautigan as an important influence on his work, along with KurtVonnegut, and Raymond Chandler.[29]

"Trout Fishing in America" is mentioned in the lyrics of the song Tee-Pees 1-12 by Father John Misty, on his 2012album Fear Fun. [30]

Richard Brautigan 5

Bibliography

Novels and novellas A Confederate General From Big Sur (1964, ISBN 0-224-61923-3) Trout Fishing in America (1967 ISBN 0-395-50076-1) Omnibus edition In Watermelon Sugar (1968 ISBN 0-440-34026-8) The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 (1971 ISBN 0-671-20872-1) The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western (1974 ISBN 0-671-21809-3) Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery (1975 ISBN 0-671-22065-9) Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel (1976 ISBN 0-671-22331-3) Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 (1977 ISBN 0-440-02146-4) The Tokyo-Montana Express (1980 ISBN 0-440-08770-8)[31]

So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away (1982 ISBN 0-395-70674-2) An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey (1982, but first published in 1994 ISBN 0-312-27710-5)

Poetry The Return of the Rivers (1958) The Galilee Hitch-Hiker (1958) Lay the Marble Tea (1959) The Octopus Frontier (1960) All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (1963) Please Plant This Book (1968) The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster (1969) Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt (1970) Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork (1971 ISBN 0-671-22263-5. ISBN 0-671-22271-6 pbk) June 30, June 30 (1978 ISBN 0-440-04295-X) The Edna Webster Collection of Undiscovered Writings (1999 ISBN 0-395-97469-0)

Short story collection Revenge of the Lawn (October 1, 1971, ISBN 0-671-20960-4)

Unpublished novel The God of the Martians (written 1955-56)

Record album Listening to Richard Brautigan, 1973 (was supposed to be Zapple #3 but came out on EMI Harvest instead)-

consists of Richard reading several poems and stories, friends reading "Love Poem" and sounds recorded in hisapartment in San Francisco.

Richard Brautigan reads the poem 'Love's Not The Way To Treat A Friend' on the 1969 album 'Paradise Bar AndGrill' by San Francisco band Mad River.

Richard Brautigan 6

References[1] " Brautigan. (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ obituaries. html#bernard2)" UPI News. October 27, 1984.[2] Brautigan, Ianthe: You Can't Catch Death: A Daughter's Memoir. St. Martin's Press, 2000. ISBN 1-84195-025-4.[3] Barber, John F.. "Biography" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ biography. html). Brautigan Bibliography and Archive. . Retrieved 2007-12-18.[4] Enzinna, Wes, "Man Underwater", Harper's Magazine. December 2012: 7680.[5] "Richard Brautigan: NovelsIntroduction" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ novels. html). Brautigan.net. 1956-08-27. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.[6] Barber, John F. (2007). Richard Brautigan: Essays on the Writings and Life (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=MsXuel52NFsC&

pg=PA225& lpg=PA225& dq=montana+ richard+ brautigan#v=onepage& q=montana & f=false). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.. pp.25,99, 225, 253. ISBN978-0-7864-2525-9. .

[7] "Richard Brautigan: Speciality Publications of His Writings" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ speciality. html). Brautigan.net. . Retrieved2012-08-01.

[8] "Richard Brautigan: The Return of the Rivers" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ rivers. html). Brautigan.net. 1957-09-11. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.[9] Barber, John F.. "Memoirs" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ memoirs. html#wright). Brautigan Bibliography and Archive. . Retrieved

2007-12-18.[10] (http:/ / brautigan. cybernetic-meadows. net/ tiki-index. php?page=Rolling Stone)[11] Barber, John F.. "Recordings" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ recordings. html#listening). Brautigan Bibliography and Archive. . Retrieved

2007-12-18.[12] "Richard Brautigan" (http:/ / 21guitars. com/ documents/ brautigan. html). 21guitars.com. 1935-01-30. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.[13] Barber, John F.. "Biography: 1970s" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ chronology1970. html). Brautigan Bibliography and Archive. . Retrieved

2007-12-18.[14] Manso, Peter; McClure, Michael. "Brautigan's Wake." Vanity Fair, May 1985: 62-68, 112-116.[15] "Freedom?": Richard Brautigans first wife, Virginia Aste, speaks in a new interview (http:/ / www. arthurmag. com/ 2009/ 12/ 25/

virginia-aste/ )[16] "Suicide - The Ultimate Choice" (http:/ / siliclone. tripod. com/ books/ elvis/ E061. html). Scot & Silicone. .[17] Caines, Michael. My Richard Brautigan Mistake (http:/ / timescolumns. typepad. com/ stothard/ 2012/ 09/

my-richard-brautigan-mistake-but-not-jarvis-cockers. html). In his Times Literary Supplement blog, September 25, 2012.[18] "Richard Brautigan 1935-1984" (http:/ / kerouacalley. com/ brautigan. html). . Retrieved 2008-06-29.[19] Saker, Anne (October 11, 2007). "Searching upstream: A writer goes fishing for the man who calls himself Trout Fishing in America" (http:/

/ www. oregonlive. com/ oregonian/ stories/ index. ssf?/ base/ living/ 119197050984080. xml& coll=7). The Oregonian. . Retrieved2007-12-18.

[20] The Official Trout Fishing In America Web Site (http:/ / www. troutmusic. com/ )[21] WatermelonSugar.com (http:/ / watermelonsugar. com)[22] (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ legacy. html#library)[23] O'Kelly, Kevin (September 27, 2004). "Unusual library may get new chapter" (http:/ / www. boston. com/ ae/ books/ articles/ 2004/ 09/ 27/

unusual_library_may_get_new_chapter). The Boston Globe. . Retrieved 2007-03-19.[24] (http:/ / brautigan. cybernetic-meadows. net/ tiki-index. php?page=Kumquat Meringue)[25] "Richard Brautigan: The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ pill. html). Brautigan.net. . Retrieved

2012-08-01.[26] "THE AMERICAN FOREVER, ETC." (http:/ / saltpeterproductions. co. uk/ saltpeter/ The_American_Forever,_Etc. . html). saltpeter. .

Retrieved 20 April 2012.[27] "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ programmes/ b011lvb9). BBC Two. 2011-06-06. . Retrieved

2012-08-01.[28] "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ programmes/ b011lvb9). BBC Two website. British

Broadcasting Corporation. . Retrieved 20 April 2012.[29] "Haruki Murakami" (http:/ / www. randomhouse. com/ features/ murakami/ site. php?id=). Randomhouse.com. . Retrieved 2012-08-01.[30] "Father John Misty" (http:/ / www. subpop. com/ artists/ father_john_misty). .[31] There is some disagreement as how to classify The Tokyo-Montana Express. John Barber at brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/

stories. html) classifies it as a collection of stories. The Brautigan Pages (http:/ / www. riza. com/ richard/ ?page_id=8) classifies it as a novel.

Richard Brautigan 7

Further reading Chnetier Marc Richard Brautigan, Methuen & Co, London, New York, 1983. ISBN 0-416-32960 (pbk) Chnetier, Marc. Richard Brautigan, criveur: notes dun ouvre-bites critique Caliban (Toulouse) 1 (1975), pp

1631 _________ Harmoniques sur lirrespect litteraire: Boris Vian et Richard Brautigan Stanford French Review, 1, 2

(Fall 1977) pp.243 59. Clayton, John. Richard Brautigan: The Politics of Woodstock New American Review, 11 (New York: Simon &

Schuster, 1971) pp.56 68. Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction, 16, 1 (Minneapolis, Minn., 1974) Richard Brautigan special issue. Hjortsberg, William (2012). Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan. Counterpoint.

ISBN978-1-58243-790-3. Loewinsohn, Ron. After the (Mimeographed) Revolution. Tri-Quarterly (Spring 1970), pp.221 36. Malley, Terence. Richard Brautigan. Writers for the Seventies. New York: Warner Paperback Library, 1972 Meltzer, David (ed.). In The San Francisco Poets, pp.17, 293-7. New York: Ballintine, 1971 Ptillon, Pierre-Yves, In La Grand-Route, pp.160 8, 236. Paris: Seuil, 1970 Putz, Manfed. In The Story of Identity, pp.105 29. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1979 Schmitz, Neil. Richard Brautigan and the Modern Pastoral Modern Fiction Studies (Spring 1973) pp.109 25. Stevick, Philip. Scherhezade Runs out of Plots, Goes on Talking, The King, Puzzled, Listens. Tri-Quarterly

(Winter 1973), pp.332 62. Swigart, Rob. Review of Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins and The Tokyo Montana Express by

Richard Brautigan. American Book Review, 3, 3 (March April 1981). P. 14. Tanner, Tony. In City of Words, pp.393, 406-15. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.

External links "Richard Brautigan" (http:/ / www. ocf. berkeley. edu/ ~eoap/ samples. htm) by John Cusatis in The Greenwood

Encyclopedia of American Poets and Poetry, 2006 Richard Brautigan (http:/ / digital. boisestate. edu/ u?/ western,43) by Jay Boyer in the Western Writers Series

Digital Editions (http:/ / library. boisestate. edu/ westernwriters/ ) at Boise State University] "Richard Brautigan (1935 - 1984)" (http:/ / www. poetryfoundation. org/ archive/ poet. html?id=778) from the

Poetry Foundation Brief critique on the life and legacy of Richard Brautigan (http:/ / journals. concrete. org. au/ inourtimes/ archives/

2005/ 09/ thinking_about. html) "Brautigan Bibliography and Archive: A bio-bibliographical archive for Richard Brautigan, his life, and

writings." (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ biography. html) "Finding Aid to the Richard Brautigan Papers, 1942-2003, (bulk 1958-1984)" (Collection number BANC MSS

87/173 c) University of California, Berkeley. Bancroft Library (http:/ / www. oac. cdlib. org/ findaid/ ark:/ 13030/tf096n97xn/ )

Works by or about Richard Brautigan (http:/ / worldcat. org/ identities/ lccn-n79-71307) in libraries (WorldCatcatalog)

Poems and quotes at the now defunct Kerouac Alley website (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080802210227/http:/ / www. kerouacalley. com/ brautigan. html)

An interview with the memoirist Ianthe Brautigan on the creative process as well as memories of her father --about-creativity.com March 31, 2008 (http:/ / cecilvortex. com/ swath/ 2008/ 03/ 31/an_interview_with_ianthe_brautigan. html)

Images of Brautigan First Editions (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan)

A Confederate General from Big Sur 8

A Confederate General from Big Sur

A Confederate General FromBig Sur

First edition cover

Author(s) Richard Brautigan

Cover artist Larry Rivers

Country United States

Language English

Publisher Grove Press

Publication date January 22, 1964

Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)

Pages 159

OCLC Number 173964 [1]

Followed by Trout Fishing in America

A Confederate General From Big Sur is Richard Brautigan's first novel, published in 1964.The story takes place in 1957. A man named Lee Mellon believes he is a descendant of a Confederate general whowas originally from Big Sur. This general is not in any books or records and there is so far no proof of his existencealthough Mellon meets a drifter from the Pacific Northwest who has also heard of this general. Mellon seeks thetruth of his own modern-day war against the status quo of the Union states.The moral of the story is the domination of mind over reality.Brautigan finished the novel in 1961 but it was not published until January 22, 1964. The story had no success anddropped in sales and made very little money.

Attempted film adaptionIn 1966, Paramount Pictures attempted to make it a film starring Burt Lancaster as Lee Mellon and Steve McQueenas the drifter. The film adaption by Paramount Pictures never happened. However, Brautigan gave a copy of hisnovel to Brandon French of Brady French Films to write a screenplay for the movie. The screenplay was onlywritten up to the first draft and the film adaptation never happened.

References Brautigan, Richard (1964). A Confederate General From Big Sur. California: ISBN 0-224-61923-3

A Confederate General from Big Sur 9

External links Entry on Brautigan.net [2]

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 173964[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ general. html

Trout Fishing in America 10

Trout Fishing in America

Trout Fishing in America


Cover artist Erik Weber


Language English

Genre(s) Novella, Prose poem

Publisher Four Seasons Foundation

Publication date October 12, 1967


Pages 112

ISBN ISBN 0-385-28860-3 (hardback edition) & ISBN 0-395-50076-1 (paperback edition)


Preceded by A Confederate General From Big Sur

Followed by In Watermelon Sugar

Trout Fishing in America is a novella written by Richard Brautigan and published in 1967. It is technicallyBrautigan's first novel; he wrote it in 1961 before A Confederate General From Big Sur which was published first.Trout Fishing In America is an abstract book without a clear central storyline. Instead, the book contains a series ofanecdotes broken into chapters, with the same characters often reappearing from story to story. The settings of mostof the chapters occur in three locales: Brautigan's childhood in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.; his day-to-dayadult life in San Francisco; and a camping trip in Idaho with his wife and infant daughter during the summer of 1961.Most of the chapters were written during this trip.The phrase "Trout Fishing in America" is used in multiple ways: it is the title of the book, a character, a hotel, the actof fishing itself, a modifier (one character is named "Trout Fishing in America Shorty"), etc. Brautigan uses thetheme of trout fishing as a point of departure for thinly veiled and often comical critiques of mainstream Americansociety and culture. Several symbolic objects, such as a mayonnaise jar, a Ben Franklin statue in San Francisco'sWashington Square, trout, etc. reappear throughout the book.The cover of the book is a photograph of Richard Brautigan and a friend identified as Michaela Le Grand, whom hereferred to as his "Muse." The photo was taken in San Francisco's Washington Square Park in front of the BenjaminFranklin statue. The first chapter of the book is an extended and fanciful description of this photo.Arion Press published a deluxe edition of Trout Fishing in America in 2003, with a preface by Ron Loewinsohn, anda color lithograph in half the edition by Wayne Thiebaud.

Trout Fishing in America 11

Cultural influenceW. P. Kinsella cited the book as a major influence on his 1985 book, The Alligator Report. There is a folk rock bandcalled Trout Fishing in America.[2]

Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt named a crater explored in the Taurus-Littrow Valley on the moon "Shorty", afterthe character in the book.In March 1994, a teenager named Peter Eastman Jr. from Carpinteria, California legally changed his name to "TroutFishing in America", and now teaches English in Japan.[3] At around the same time, National Public Radio reportedon a young couple who had named their baby "Trout Fishing in America".Musician Josh Tillman, under the pseudonym Father John Misty, mentions Trout Fishing in America in his song"Tee Pees 1-12" which is found on the album Fear Fun which was released on April 30, 2012. Josh Tillman is aformer member of the Seattle-based band the Fleet Foxes.Musician Shawn Mullins wrote a song called Twin Rocks, Oregon on the Live At the Variety Playhouse album, thatcompares a man he meets on the Oregon Coast to Richard Brautigan and mentions the song Trout Fishing inAmerica towards the end of the song.

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 232945520[2] The Official Trout Fishing In America Web Site (http:/ / www. troutmusic. com/ )[3] Anne Saker (October 11, 2007). "Searching upstream: A writer goes fishing for the man who calls himself Trout Fishing in America" (http:/ /

www. oregonlive. com/ oregonian/ stories/ index. ssf?/ base/ living/ 119197050984080. xml& coll=7). The Oregonian. . Retrieved2007-12-18.

External links Entry on brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ trout. html) Images of First Edition (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 79/ )

In Watermelon Sugar 12

In Watermelon Sugar

In Watermelon Sugar

First edition cover of In Watermelon Sugar, showing Brautigan with his friend Hilda Hoffman


Cover artist Edmund Shea


Language English

Genre(s) Post-apocalyptic novella


Publication date June 14, 1968


Pages 138

ISBN 1-131-52372-5

Preceded by Trout Fishing in America (1967)

Followed by Revenge of the Lawn (1971)

In Watermelon Sugar is a novella written by Richard Brautigan and published in 1968. It is a tale of a communeorganized around a central gathering house which is named "iDEATH". In this environment, many things are made ofwatermelon sugar (though the inhabitants also use pine wood and stone for building material and fuel is made fromtrout oil). The landscape of the novel is always changing. Each day has a different colored sun which createsdifferent colored watermelons, and the central building also changes frequently.

Plot summaryThrough the narrator's first person account we hear the story of the people and the events of iDEATH. The centraltension is created by Margaret, once a lover of the narrator, and inBOIL, a rebellious man who has left iDEATH to livenear a forbidden area called the Forgotten Works. It is a huge trash heap where the remnants of a former civilizationlie abandoned in great piles. Margaret, a collector of such 'forgotten things', is friendly with inBOIL and his followers,who explore the place and make whiskey.inBOIL's separation from the group may have been related to the annihilation of 'The Tigers', killed many yearspreviously by the people. It is unknown to the reader whether 'The Tigers' were actual tigers, human beings orsomehow anthropomorphic: while the tigers would kill and eat people (including the narrator's parents) they couldalso talk, sing, play musical instruments and were at least competent with arithmetic. Two tigers were killed on abridge (known later as 'the abandoned bridge'). The last tiger was killed on a spot later developed into a trout farm.In the violent climax of the novel, inBOIL returns to the community along with a handful of followers, planning, hesays, to show the residents what iDEATH really is. The residents know only that "something" is about to happenforall they know, inBOIL could be plotting to kill them all. Margaret appears oblivious to the threats, and unconcernedabout the safety of her own family and friends. Many suspect that Margaret knew and did not reveal details ofinBOIL's real plan, thus "conspiring" with the evil men. She is semi-ostracized from iDEATH, and at the beginning ofthe novel the narrator reveals he had ended their relationship because of these events.[1]

In Watermelon Sugar 13

InterpretationThe concept of iDEATH is subject to various interpretations. It can be seen as a new Eden in a post-apocalyptic world,with the old destroyed world represented by the Forgotten Works, connecting the narrator and his new lover to Adamand Eve. The novel alludes to communal experiments of the 1960s, involving the intersection of nature andtechnology. For example, the iDEATH building seems to have been constructed around nature, rather than displacingit; the building houses many trees, rocks, a creek, and a trout hatchery. Brautigan himself said he based the book onhis life in Bolinas, whose inhabitants were at that time known for their semi-communal and insular ways.

Allusions/references from other worksIn Watermelon Sugar is referenced in Ray Mungo's book on his experiences founding and running the Total LossFarm [2] commune in Vermont. He speaks of iDEATH several times. Stephen Gaskin, who wrote that he felt an "acidweird" and "strange mythology" in the book,[3] may have based some aspects of The Farm commune inSummertown, Tennessee on iDEATH.The titles and characters are also used as lyrics in a song by new rave band Klaxons in their song 'Forgotten Works',that features on their album Myths of the Near Future. Neko Case references this book as the inspiration for her song'Margaret versus Pauline' on the album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. iDeath is also briefly referenced in the"New Traveler's Almanac" section of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2. In Watermelon Sugar isalso referenced multiple times in the Dean Koontz novel, One Door Away From Heaven, by an important secondarycharacter who believes, in her near-constant drug-soaked haze, that she would unlock the secrets of the universe ifshe could only understand this book properly.

References[1] Brautigan, Richard, In Watermelon Sugar. San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1968.[2] http:/ / www. 7dvt. com/ 2008hippie-havens[3] Gaskin, Stephen. Haight Ashbury Flashbacks. (Originally called Amazing Dope Tales.) Summertown, TN: The Book Publishing Company,

1980.

External links Detailed analysis of the novel (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ watermelon. html) at the Brautigan Archives. Quotes

from reviews, discussion of possible sources and inspirations. Barber, John F. (21 July 2006). "Novels > In Watermelon Sugar" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ watermelon.

html). Brautigan Bibliography and Archive. Retrieved 2008-05-05. Images of First Edition (Limited) (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 106-1/ ) Images of First Edition (Trade) (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 106-2/ )

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 14

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966

The Abortion: An Historical Romance1966

Front cover of The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966.




Language English

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Simon and Schuster

Publication date March 23, 1971


Pages 226 pages (hardcover)

ISBN ISBN 978-0-671-20872-1) (hardcover)


Dewey Decimal 813/.5/4

LC Classification PZ4.B826 Ab PS3503.R2736

Preceded by The Revenge of the Lawn (1970)

Followed by The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western (1974)

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 is a novel by Richard Brautigan first published in 1971 by Simon andSchuster. In subsequent printings the title is often shortened to simply The Abortion.

Plot summaryThe Abortion is a genre novel parody[2] concerning the librarian of a very unusual California library which acceptsbooks in any form and from anyone who wishes to drop one off at the librarychildren submit tales told in crayonabout their toys; teenagers tell tales of angst and old people drop by with their memoirsdescribed as "theunwanted, the lyrical and haunted volumes of American writing" in the novel.[3] Summoned by a silver bell at allhours, submissions are catalogued at the librarian's discretion; not by the Dewey Decimal system, but by placementon whichever magically dust-free shelf would, in the author's judgment, serve best as the book's home.[4]

One day a woman named Vida appears at the library's door. Although shy and awkward she is described as the mostbeautiful woman in the world, who American admen "would have made into a national park if they would havegotten their hands on her."[3] Vida falls in love with the reclusive librarian and soon becomes pregnant, necessitatinga trip to Tijuana, Mexico to secure an abortion.

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 15

Characters in The Abortion Narrator: The main character is an unnamed narrator who lives and works at a library housing only unpublished

manuscripts. He got the job from the previous librarian who quit because he feared children. The narrator has notleft the library in three years. He meets a twenty-year-old woman named Vida, an attractive but awkward-actingwoman who falls in love with him. When Vida becomes pregnant they travel to Tijuana, Mexico, to secure anabortion. When he and Vida return from Tijuana, he loses his job at the library to a middle-aged woman.

Vida: Vida is the supporting character in the story. She meets the narrator in the library when she brings in apoetry collection about her body. She says she hates her body and hates that men keep looking at her. Vida'sbeauty killed a distracted driver who was looking at her. She falls in love with the narrator and they becomeintimate. Some weeks later, Vida discovers she is pregnant. During the course of their relationship Vida becomesmore comfortable with her body and at the end of the novel is working in a topless bar.

Foster: An exuberant, earthy, great-hearted man, Foster packages books from the library if the librarian is out ofthe room and takes the overflow books to be stored in caves. Foster thinks the librarian's job is too monastic aswell as a bit wacky. When the narrator and Vida have to leave for Tijuana, Foster has to watch over the librarywhile they are gone. At the end, Foster lets a woman who has come to leave her book at the library watch over theplace. The woman takes over, and the narrator loses his job.

The Brautigan LibraryIn an homage to Richard Brautigan, The Abortion's concept was put into practice in the form of the BrautiganLibrary. Housed in a section of the larger Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont, the library accepts onlyunpublished manuscripts and had a catalogue of 325 works as of 2004.[5]

According to the News from the Fletcher Free Library [6], there were once plans to move the Brautigan Library tothe San Francisco Public Library. However, according to the Brautigan Library's website [7], the contents of theLibrary were moved to and put permanently on display at the Clark County Historical Museum (a Carnegie Librarybuilding like the San Francisco Library) in 2010.

Footnotes[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 132408[2] eNotes.com LLC (2006). Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Richard Brautigan 1935-1984 (http:/ / www. enotes. com/

twentieth-century-criticism/ brautigan-richard). Retrieved October 17, 2006.[3] "The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966" by Joseph Butwin.Saturday Review 12 June 1971. Electronic abstract at Brautigan

Bibliography and Archive (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ text/ butwin. html). Retrieved November 4, 2006.[4] AHA Books (1995 - 2005). Put your Book in the Brautigan Virtual Library (http:/ / www. ahapoetry. com/ braushlf. htm). Retrieved

November 4, 2006.[5] The New York Times Company (2004). Boston Globe article: Unusual library may get new chapter (http:/ / www. boston. com/ ae/ books/

articles/ 2004/ 09/ 27/ unusual_library_may_get_new_chapter/ ) by Kevin O'Kelly. Retrieved November 4, 2006.[6] http:/ / www. fletcherfree. org/ NewsFromTheFFLArchives. htm[7] http:/ / thebrautiganlibrary. org/

External links Entry on brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ abortion. html)

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western 16

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

First edition cover


Cover artist Wendell Minor


Language English

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Simon & Schuster

Publication date September, 1974


Pages 216

ISBN ISBN 0-671-21809-3 (hardback edition)



LC Classification PZ4.B826 Haw PS3503.R2736

Preceded by The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966

Followed by Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western is a novel by Richard Brautigan written in 1974.Taking place mainly in eastern Oregon in 1902, the story concerns a pair of morally ambivalent gunmen, Cameronand Greer. On a job in Hawaii, they are stopped by the fact their target is with his son. After returning to Californiathey spend some time in a whorehouse, where a young Native American-looking woman, Magic Child, comes tohire them for a job at her house. Along the way they stop at a place to eat and during the meal hear loud gunshot-likenoises. That night Magic Child sleeps with both men and Greer takes quite a liking to her. When they reach thehouse, in the middle of the western plains, it is surrounded by snow. Miss Hawkline comes to greet them and theyrealize that Magic Child is her twin sister. As soon as they enter the house the women's personalities change and theyexplain that they brought the men here to hunt down and destroy the "monster" living in the "ice caves" beneath thehouse. Miss Hawkline and her servant/sister/other self (also called "Miss Hawkline") believe that the monster haskilled their father, a scientist who disappeared while hard at work in his basement laboratory on a project referred toonly as "The Chemicals," which would, he claimed, if perfected, be a great boon to the human race. During theconversation the four characters realise that the monster is somehow altering their minds to make them lose track ofwhat they are discussing. The large family butler dies suddenly and shrinks into a little person. After all the strangehappenings, evidently designed to distract them, Cameron pours a glass of whiskey into the test tube of chemicalsthat created the monster. This kills the monster, destroys the house and turns the father back into a human being (hehad been an umbrella basket the whole time). The butler returns to normal size. Cameron and Greer marry the twosisters, and the story ends, but an epilogue states that the sisters eventually divorced the two men.For many years film-maker Hal Ashby unsuccessfully attempted to make a film adaptation of this book. Actors Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton and Jeff Bridges were all considered for the lead roles. Brautigan wrote a screenplay which Ashby rejected. When asked to write a second draft, Brautigan turned him down. The film was never made. Director Tim Burton also tried to make a film version, Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood were attached to star but

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western 17

after Eastwood left the project so did Nicholson and then eventually Burton left the project too.[2]

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 868088[2] Arran McDermott (2006). "Unrealised Projects" (http:/ / www. timburtoncollective. com/ unfinished. html#hawkline). The Tim Burton

Collective. . /

External links Entry on brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ hawkline. html) The Hawkline Monster at Hunter Publishers (http:/ / www. hunterpublishers. com. au/ Hawkline_Monster. php) Images of First Edition (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 125-1/ )

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery 18

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A PerverseMystery

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: APerverse Mystery

First edition cover



Language English

Genre(s) Novel


Publication date September 13, 1975


Pages 167




LC Classification PZ4.B826 Wi PS3503.R2736

Preceded by The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

Followed by Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery is a novel by Richard Brautigan written in 1975.The story takes place in San Francisco, California in the early 1970s. The title character is a papier mache bird thatshares the front room of a San Francisco apartment with a collection of bowling trophies that some time earlier werestolen from the home of the Logan brothers. The human tenants of this apartment are John and Pat, who have justreturned from seeing a Greta Garbo movie in a local movie theater. Their neighbors are Bob and Constance, amarried couple going through some rough times in their relationship. Because of their failing relationship, Bobbecomes depressed. Meanwhile the Logan brothers are looking for their bowling trophies stolen three years earlier.The brothers have turned their happy life of bowling into a life of vengeance. Brautigan tried to have all the maincharacters in the story have an intersection that is comically sad.Richard Brautigan got the name Willard in the novel from his friend Stanley Fullerton's paper-mach bird namedWillard and, in fact, a bird is on the front cover of the novel.

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery 19

ReferencesBrautigan, Richard (1975). Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery. New York: ISBN0-671-20872-1

External links Entry on brautigan.net [2]

Images of First Edition [3]

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 1230779[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ willard. html[3] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 137/

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel 20

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel

First edition cover


Cover artist John Ansado


Language English

Genre(s) Novel


Publication date 1976


Pages 187




LC Classification PZ4.B826 So PS3503.R2736

Preceded by Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery

Followed by Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel is Richard Brautigan's seventh novel. It was published in 1976.Sombrero Fallout is a novel which follows two stories. The first revolves around an author trying to cope with therecent loss of his Japanese lover, which includes a dream the ex-lover has. During a particular fit, the authorbecomes dissatisfied with a story he had just begun about a sombrero falling from the sky. This story eventuallytakes a life of its own.The novel was finished in 1975.

ReferencesBrautigan, Richard (1976). Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Mystery. New York: ISBN 0-671-22331-3


References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 2213273[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ sombrero. html

Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 21

Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942

Dreaming of Babylon: A Private EyeNovel 1942

First edition cover


Cover artist Craig Nelson


Language English

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Delacorte Press/ Seymour Lawrence



Pages 220




LC Classification PZ4.B826 Dr PS3503.R2736

Preceded by Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel

Followed by So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away

Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 is Richard Brautigan's eighth novel and was published in 1977. Itis a black comedy set in San Francisco in 1942. The central character, C. Card, is no Sam Spade, but actually does dodetective work of a sort, when he's not off dreaming of Babylon.

External links Richard Brautigan Bibliography and Archive [2]

Entry on brautigan.net [3]

Von Babylon trumen ... Eine Kriminalgeschichte im San Francisco von 1942 [4]

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 2964445[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ /[3] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ babylon. html[4] http:/ / www. anglo-german-translations. de/ dreaming_of_babylon_richard_brautigan. html

The Tokyo-Montana Express 22

The Tokyo-Montana Express

The Tokyo-Montana Express

1st edition



Language English

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence


Media type Print (Hardback)

Pages 258

ISBN 0-440-08770-8


Dewey Decimal 813/.54

LC Classification PS3503.R2736 T64 1980

Preceded by Revenge of the Lawn

The Tokyo-Montana Express is a novel by Richard Brautigan. It contains 131 chapters which are short storieswritten by Brautigan from 1976 to 1978, during a period when he was dividing his time between Japan and his ranchhouse in Montana. A note at the beginning of the book explains that the chapters are "stations" along the tracks of theTokyo-Montana Express and the "I" is the voice of each of those stations.A signed edition (limited to 350 copies) was published by Targ Editions in 1979 prior to the first trade editionpublished in 1980.


Images of First Edition (Limited) [3]

Images of First Edition (Trade) [4]

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 6421595[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ express. html[3] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 154-1/[4] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 154-2/

So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away 23

So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away

So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away

1st edition


Cover artist Roger Ressmeyer


Language English

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Delacorte Press/ Seymour Lawrence



Pages 131



Dewey Decimal 813/.54 19

LC Classification PS3503.R2736 S58 1982

Preceded by Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942

Followed by An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey

So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away is a novel written by Richard Brautigan, published in 1982.The story is about a narrator in 1979 remembering the events that happened when he was 13 in 1948. The youngnarrator lives in a lower class suburban Oregon neighborhood and collects beer bottles or does favors for neighborsto earn money. He also spends time alone fishing in a pond on the outskirts of town.Instead of buying a hamburger at a local diner, he buys bullets from the gunshop across the street. The book startswith this, and then hovers and builds around this event until the end. While shooting rotten apples at an abandonedorchard with a friend, the narrator accidentally shoots and kills him. Because the shooting was an accident he isacquitted, but because of his ruined reputation, his waitress mother doesn't get tips anymore, he is severely bullied atschool, and they're forced to move. The book ends with a return to an observation of two obese people fishing in atemporarily set up "living room" by the pond. Most of the book is made up of observations of the different strangecharacters that surrounded the narrator when he was a child.The novel presents a wistful, poetic and many times sad perspective on a life. In this case, some of it on Brautigan'sown. The tone can be described as being saturated with feeling and sublime in its bittersweetness - demonstrated inthis quote from the end of the novel:

"I had become so quiet and so small in the grass by the pond that I was barely noticeable, hardly there I satthere watching their living room shining out of the dark beside the pond. It looked like a fairy-tale functioninghappily in the post-World War II gothic of America before television crippled the imagination and turnedpeople indoors and away from living out their own fantasies with dignity Anyway, I just kept getting smallerand smaller beside the pond, more and more unnoticed in the darkening summer grass until I disappeared intothe 32 years that have passed since then"

Each chapter of the novel begins with the words "so the wind won't blow it all away...Dust...American...Dust".

So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away 24

According to the Brautigan archival website, this is a semi-autobiographical novel based on two separate incidentswhich took place in and around Eugene, Oregon in Brautigan's early teens. Brautigan had shot and slightly injured afriend during a duck hunt in Fern Ridge. At around the same time, the 14-year-old son of a well-known attorney inthe Eugene area was shot and killed, also in a hunting accident.[2] Some of the events in the novel are mentioned inBrautigan's biography You Can't Catch Death written by his daughter Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan.

Film adaptationA thirty-minute film based on this novel was produced by Swensen Productions (Ianthe Brautigan and husband PaulSwensen) and shown at the New York Film Festival in June 2000 and the Los Angeles Film Festival in October2000. The screenplay was written by Robert Duxbury.

References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 8306300[2] Notes on So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ wind. html) at the Brautigan Bibliography and Archive, page

found 2011-04-07.

External links Brautigan Bibliography and Archive (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ ) Entry on brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ wind. html)

An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey 25

An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey

Cahier d'un Retour de Troie

1st English edition


Original title An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey

Translator Marc Chnetier

Country France

Language French

Genre(s) Novel

Publisher Bourgois


Media type Print (Hardback)

Pages 110 (U.S. edition)

ISBN ISBN 0-312-26243-4 (U.S. edition)

Preceded by So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away

An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey is Richard Brautigan's eleventh and final published novel. Written in 1982, itwas first published (posthumously) in 1994 in a French translation, "Cahier d'un Retour de Troie", [Return of theWoman of Troy]. The first edition in English did not appear until 2000, when it was produced by St. Martins Press.The story, set in 1982, is a series of diary entries by Brautigan about a woman named Nikki Arai who is sufferingfrom cancer. Her best friend committed suicide and Arai suffers hard times after her best friend's suicide. After thedeath of her friend she tries to commit suicide numerous times. Eventually, Nikki decides not to take her own lifeand, in the end, dies from cancer.

External links Brautigan Bibliography and Archive [1]

Entry on brautigan.net [2]

References[1] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ woman. html

The Galilee Hitch-Hiker 26

The Galilee Hitch-Hiker

The Galilee Hitch-Hiker

1st edition


Cover artist Kenn Davis


Language English

Genre(s) Poetry

Publisher White Rabbit Press


Media type Print (Softcover)

Pages 16

Followed by Lay The Marble Tea

The Galilee Hitch-Hiker is Richard Brautigan's second poetry publication. It was first published in 1958 by WhiteRabbit Press in a hand-sewn edition of 200, and was sold by a variety of means, including City Lights Bookstore anddirect sales by Brautigan to those passing by on the street.[1] In 1966 the book was re-released by The Cranium Pressin a run of 700 with an additional 16 signed and numbered copies. Brautigan signed each of the 16 copies in bluepencil and drew a small picture of a fish.[2]

The contents consist of one poem with nine separately titled sections. It was reprinted, in its entirety, in The PillVersus the Springhill Mine Disaster.

References[1] http:/ / dictionary. sensagent. com/ the+ galilee+ hitch-hiker/ en-en/[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ galilee. html

External links Entry on Brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ galilee. html) Images of First Edition (https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 7/ )

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace 27

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

All Watched Over by Machinesof Loving Grace

1st edition


Cover artist Bill Brock


Language English

Genre(s) Poetry

Publisher Communication Company



Preceded by The Octopus Frontier

Followed by Please Plant This Book

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is Richard Brautigan's fifth poetry publication. As with several ofhis early works, the entire edition (of 1,500 copies) was distributed for free. The title poem envisions a world wherecybernetics has advanced to a stage where it allows a return to the balance of nature and an elimination of the needfor human labor.All thirty-two of the poems in this collection were republished in The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster.

Cultural referencesThe title was later used by Tucson, Arizona industrial rock band Machines of Loving Grace, formed in 1989, and inits full form by British musician Martin Carr as the title of a 2004 album, as well as a 2011 television series bydocumentary maker Adam Curtis.[1]

References[1] Adam Curtis (2011-05-10). "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ blogs/ adamcurtis/ 2011/ 05/

all_watched_over_by_machines_o. html). BBC Online. .

External links "Richard Brautigan: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ machines.

html). brautigan.net. Bob Nelson (2011-02-04). "Richard Brautigan Writings - First Appearance Database" (https:/ / staging.

airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 22/ index. html).

Please Plant This Book 28

Please Plant This Book

Please Plant This Book


Cover artist Bill Brock


Language English

Genre(s) Poetry

Publisher Richard Brautigan



Preceded by All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

Followed by The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster

Please Plant This Book is Richard Brautigan's sixth poetry publication. It consists of a folded and glued foldercontaining eight seed packets. On the front of each is a poem. This was Brautigan's last self-publishing venture andcame out in an edition of 6,000. The entire edition was offered for free distribution, and permission to reprint thecollection was explicitly granted, as long as the new printing was also offered free-of-charge. Although a relativelylarge edition for an early Brautigan work, it's one of the harder items to find.The eight poem titles and associated seed packets are as follows: California Native Flowers Calendula Carrots Lettuce Sweet Alyssum Royal Carpet Squash Shasta Daisy ParsleyThis project was re-created for the first time since 1970 and for the first time in the UK for the inaugural DinefwrLiterature Festival [1], June 2012, West Wales. saltpeter [2] and the Brautigan Book Club [3] is bringing a trilogy [4] ofBrautigan inspired events, one of which is Please Plant This Book, to celebrate the start of this festival, held in thecountryside and on the grounds of historical Dinefwr Park and Castle. In addition to reprinting the poetry folders, amini-album of musical responses will also be distributed for free, and the public will be taken on a walk through thegrounds where a pomegranate tree, nicknamed "the Brautigan pomegranate", has been planted. Ianthe Brautigan,Brautigan's daughter, was present at the festival, having flown in from San Francisco to join in the celebrations. It ispossible to obtain limited edition handmade copies of PPTB for free here [5].

Please Plant This Book 29



References[1] http:/ / www. dinefwrliteraturefestival. co. uk/[2] http:/ / www. saltpeterproductions. co. uk/ saltpeter/ Overview. html[3] http:/ / www. brautiganbookclub. co. uk/[4] http:/ / www. dinefwrliteraturefestival. co. uk/ the-brautigan-book-club[5] http:/ / www. brautiganbookclub. co. uk/ pages/ please-plant-this-book-dinefwrlondon-2013[6] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ plant. html[7] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 23/

The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster 30

The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster

The Pill Versus the SpringhillMine Disaster

1st softcover edition




Language English

Genre(s) Poetry



Media type Print (Hardcover and Softcover)

Pages 108

Preceded by The Octopus Frontier

Followed by Please Plant This Book

The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster is Richard Brautigan's seventh poetry publication. A limited, signed,hard cover edition of fifty copies was issued simultaneously with the soft cover version of the first edition.The collection of ninety-eight poems includes thirty-eight that were previously uncollected. The rest were gatheredfrom five of Brautigan's previous poetry publications. In some cases, all of the poems from an earlier book wereincluded in this volume.The title poem uses just four lines to draw a parallel between the 1958 Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, NovaScotia and the use by the author's lover of birth control pills, in that both leave life, with all of its potential, buriedforever. Entry on Brautigan.net [1]

Images of First Limited Edition [2]

Images of First Trade Edition [3]

References[1] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ pill. html[2] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 26-1/[3] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 26-2/

Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt 31

Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt

Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt

1st edition




Language English

Genre(s) Poetry

Publisher Delacorte Press


Media type Print (Hardcover and Softcover)

Pages 85

ISBN 0-385-28863-8

Preceded by The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster

Followed by Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork

Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt is Richard Brautigan's eighth poetry publication and includes 58 poems. Thetitle of the book echoes a 1942 San Francisco Chronicle headline describing a successful operation by Rommelduring the North African Campaign of World War II. The six line title poem, reminiscent of Ozymandias, uses thisheadline to examine the transitory nature of both human endeavor and the reader of the poem. The photograph on thecover of the first softcover edition was taken by Edmund Shea in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.[1]

References[1] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ rommel. html

External links Entry on Brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ rommel. html)

Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork 32

Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork

Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork

1st edition


Cover artist Erik Weber


Language English

Genre(s) Poetry



Media type Print (Hardcover)

Pages 127

ISBN 0-671-22263-5



LC Classification PS3503.R2736 L6

Preceded by Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt

Followed by June 30th June 30th

Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork is Richard Brautigan's ninth poetry publication and includes 127 poems. Thefour line title poem discusses the effort and interest in undertaking an obviously impossible task, such as loading theliquid metal Mercury using only a pitchfork.

External links Entry on Brautigan.net [2]


References[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 2006053[2] http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ mercury. html[3] https:/ / staging. airflowsciences. com/ rkn/ Brautigan/ 56/

Revenge of the Lawn 33

Revenge of the Lawn

Revenge of the Lawn

1st edition




Language English

Genre(s) Short stories


Publication date October 1, 1971


Pages 174

ISBN 0-671-20960-4



LC Classification PZ4.B826 Re PS3503.R2736

Preceded by In Watermelon Sugar (1968)

Followed by The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 (1971)

Revenge of the Lawn: Stories 1962-1970 is a collection of sixty-two short stories written by the American authorRichard Brautigan from 1962 to 1970. Like most of Brautigan's works, the stories are whimsical, simply themed, andoften surreal. Many of the stories were originally published elsewhere.[2] The book also contains two missingchapters from his work Trout Fishing in America, "Rembrandt Creek" and "Carthage Sink".[3]

Footnotes[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 199967[2] The full list encompasses Change, Coyote's Journal, Esquire, Evergreen Review, Jeopardy, Kulchur, Mademoiselle, New American Review,

Nice, Now Now, Parallel, Playboy, Ramparts, R. C. Lion, Rolling Stone, Sum, Tri-Quarterly, and Vogue (source: The Revenge of the Lawn1971, copyright page).

[3] The Revenge of the Lawn 1971, The Lost Chapters of Trout Fishing in America: "Rembrandt Creek" and "Carthage Sink", pp 3741

External links Entry on Brautigan.net (http:/ / www. brautigan. net/ lawn. html)

Article Sources and Contributors 34

Article Sources and ContributorsRichard Brautigan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=543587180 Contributors: ABCD, Aboutmovies, Ahkond, Alansohn, Albertsons Librarian, AliveFreeHappy, Alro,Andrew Norman, Arcadia616, Awotter, Baffclan, Bhoeble, Bienfuxia, BigFatBuddha, Biruitorul, Blades95, Bluejay Young, Bobblehead, Bpolhemus, BradN1970, Brianhe, BrownHairedGirl,BuffettFan, Calton, CambridgeBayWeather, Candis Rochelle, Cashiers, Catinator, Charles Matthews, ChrisGualtieri, Clarityfiend, Closedmouth, Control.valve, Cooliojojo, D6, Dahn,Davevgreen, Deejayk, Dekimasu, Derek R Bullamore, Designquest10, Djembayz, Doctorfree, Doctormatt, Dominus, Dreamafter, Ed Dadoo, EdwoodHappyScams, Ehjort, Ellenois, Eloquence,Ewulp, F. Simon Grant, Felix Folio Secundus, Fernkes, Ferryca, Fishhead64, Fitzhugh, Fuhghettaboutit, Gamaliel, Gauss, Gbroiles, Gerry Bell, Gershwinrb, Gobonobo, Good Olfactory, Hanter,Harry, Hmains, Hoobingloobin, Horse Badorties, Hyacinth, Ireneshusband, IsrealPackard, J.canales60, JackofOz, Jeanenawhitney, Jen l, Jgrosch, Jim Douglas, Jjpancake, Jmasiulewicz,JoannaSerah, JohnnyLurg, Joshua Coxwell, Jphillst, Kate, Katsam, Kbdank71, Keystoneflies, Kgrad, Kingboyk, Koavf, Koffieyahoo, Ktmcginn, Kyle Barbour, Lara Avara, Larsanders, Leviallemany, Libroman, LilHelpa, Lishian, Lloyd Nixon, Llywrch, MK, Magioladitis, MakeRocketGoNow, Manytexts, Mark Hymann-Adler, Markdavies370, Marksdaman, Marm, Marontia,Marxus, Masque of Red Death, Mercurywoodrose, Michael David, Mozog, Mr.KungPow, Nabokov, NativeFaith, Night w, Ninkybob, Ontarioboy, PBS, PDH, Pearle, Peteforsyth, Piedmtbill,Pjmpjm, Planbattack, Portinfinite, PumpkinSky, Pyrop, QuentinV, ReadQT, RedSpruce, Rich Farmbrough, Rimbaud 2, Rjwilmsi, Rknasc, Rontrigger, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Scwlong, SeanO,Shawnhath, ShelfSkewed, Sherurcij, Short Brigade Harvester Boris, Some jerk on the Internet, Soupy sautoy, Spanglej, Spoonriver, Stefanomione, SteveRamone, Steven J. Anderson, SupXl,THATSBETTER, Tenmei, Terry1944, The Interior, The Wrong Man, Tinton5, Tnxman307, Travisl, Undead warrior, Valfontis, Viriditas, Vonbontee, Voodoofish, Ww2censor, Xezbeth,Yllosubmarine, 386 anonymous edits

A Confederate General from Big Sur Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=472186925 Contributors: Archanamiya, Bradeos Graphon, Carmiszeke, CharlotteWebb,GrahamHardy, GreatWhiteNortherner, Henry Merrivale, Iridescent, J 1982, Kevinalewis, MSGJ, Marksdaman, Marxus, Nathan, Rich Farmbrough, Rknasc, Sadads, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, SkierDude, Tim!, Valfontis, 24 anonymous edits

Trout Fishing in America Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=500349456 Contributors: 23skidoo, Calton, Catamorphism, Cgingold, Closedmouth, DaveClapper, Doctorfluffy,Doctormatt, Edward, GrahamHardy, GregorB, John Paul Parks, JohnnyLurg, Jphillst, Kencf0618, Kevinalewis, MakeRocketGoNow, Marksdaman, Marxus, Pegship, Poccil, Pyrop, Quiddity,RedSpruce, Rknasc, Sadads, Short Brigade Harvester Boris, The Interior, TheoClarke, Tim!, Tiredship, Waacstats, Wildsoda, 28 anonymous edits

In Watermelon Sugar Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=526189024 Contributors: Andres, Angry candy, Badagnani, Bluejay Young, Chromancer, Clpo13, DARTH SIDIOUS2, DBigXray, Deacontodd, Druff, Ellenois, Fram, Fuhghettaboutit, GrahamHardy, Grey Shadow, Gurch, HammerDoc, Hmains, Jeffq, Jkazoo, JohnnyLurg, JustAGal, Little Mountain 5,Marksdaman, Mastrchf91, Mercurywoodrose, Nixeagle, Noise1000, Oli Filth, Pyrop, Rknasc, Rock Rose, Salsb, SigPig, Simply swurls, Spoko, Srleffler, Tim!, 79 anonymous edits

The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=495055167 Contributors: Albacore, Bluejay Young, David Gerard, Fuhghettaboutit,GrahamHardy, Hmains, Jmrowland, Kevinalewis, Marksdaman, Mercurywoodrose, Pigman, RegentsPark, Rknasc, Severa, Tim!, Toughpigs, Utternons, 17 anonymous edits

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504467777 Contributors: AndrewJD, Arjayay, AvicAWB, Bearcat, Chris the speller, Deathsythe,Felix Folio Secundus, GoingBatty, GrahamHardy, Henry Merrivale, JohnnyLurg, Lemongenesis, Marksdaman, Marxus, Pitamakan, Rknasc, Sadads, Tim!, Valfontis, 19 anonymous edits

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504427505 Contributors: Belovedfreak, Blow of Light, Bobdeckerbob, Chris thespeller, Felix Folio Secundus, GrahamHardy, Henry Merrivale, Hmains, Marksdaman, Marxus, Pegship, Rknasc, Tim!, 13 anonymous edits

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504407826 Contributors: Alexius08, Belovedfreak, Felix Folio Secundus, GrahamHardy, Helixweb,Magioladitis, Marksdaman, Marxus, PhilipC, Rknasc, Staffwaterboy, Tim!, 13 anonymous edits

Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=421323692 Contributors: GrahamHardy, JASpencer, Marksdaman, Marxus, Rknasc,Seba5618, Tim!, 12 anonymous edits

The Tokyo-Montana Express Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=514540407 Contributors: Chris Capoccia, DAJF, GrahamHardy, Henry Merrivale, Jphillst, Koavf, Lance.ware,Marksdaman, Marxus, Rknasc, Steven J. Anderson, Tim!, 9 anonymous edits

So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=542651327 Contributors: Aristophanes68, Bluejay Young, Cohee, Crazy Boris with a red beard, Dr.Blofeld, Ekki01, GrahamHardy, GregorB, Iohannes Animosus, Jmrowland, JustAGal, Kevinalewis, Lloyd Nixon, Marksdaman, Marxus, NawlinWiki, PhilipC, Phiwum, Rjwilmsi, Rknasc, SkierDude, Steven J. Anderson, Tesscass, Tim!, Wangerin, Xaosflux, 22 anonymous edits

An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504633769 Contributors: Carabinieri, GrahamHardy, Henry Merrivale, Hmains, Jj137, Jtneill,Marksdaman, Marxus, Master of Puppets, Rknasc, SatyrTN, Steven J. Anderson, Tim!, 10 anonymous edits

The Galilee Hitch-Hiker Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=535395190 Contributors: GrahamHardy, INeverCry, Jmasiulewicz, Rknasc, 1 anonymous edits

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=515239819 Contributors: 2A03:3680:0:3:250:56FF:FE83:3C, Coyote2, Exok,GrahamHardy, Hex, HylandPaddy, Jack365, Rememberway, Rknasc, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Zagalejo, 3 anonymous edits

Please Plant This Book Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=504088324 Contributors: GrahamHardy, JohnnyLurg, Rknasc, 4 anonymous edits

The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=442084448 Contributors: GrahamHardy, JohnnyLurg, Lyrl, Mercurywoodrose, Monado,Rknasc

Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=442037784 Contributors: DragonflySixtyseven, GrahamHardy, Marxus, Mercurywoodrose, Pegship,Rknasc, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Skier Dude, Viminoa

Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=520419508 Contributors: GrahamHardy, Mrathel, Rknasc

Revenge of the Lawn Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=531908317 Contributors: Canley, Ellenois, Fuhghettaboutit, GrahamHardy, Henry Merrivale, Jj137, JohnnyLurg,Kevinalewis, Koavf, Kyle Barbour, Mercurywoodrose, Pegship, Rknasc, Scottmit, Spencer, Terry Longbaugh, 1 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 35

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

richard brautigan

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