Spirit of America Bookstore

Richard  Brautigan
[1935-1984]

Richard Brautigan, circa 1967 {cropped} - photo by Erik Weber          short profile

novels

poetry, stories, other works

works about Richard Brautigan

friends & family

links


“A long time ago this was our future.”
— Richard Brautigan


     B I O

     t e x t

     h e r e

Twenty-year-old literary hopeful Richard Brautigan left his hometown of Eugene, Oregon in 1955 for San Francisco's burgeoning Beat scene.

Richard Brautigan entry at Wikipedia
Richard Brautigan {bare} credits at Internet Movie Database
browse books by Richard Brautigan



Novels

"A Confederate General From Big Sur" [1964] ISBN 0-224-61923-3) 0395547032

"The Abortion: An Historical Romance" [1966] (1971 ISBN 0-671-20872-1)

"Trout Fishing In America" poetic novel [written 1961, published 1967] ISBN 0-395-50076-1)

"In Watermelon Sugar" [written 1964, published 1968] ISBN 0-440-34026-8)

"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   "Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel, 1942" [1977]
A goofball, down-and-out private eye in New Orleans fantasizes a better life.
Delacorte Press pb [10/78] out of print/used
Delacorte Press hardcover [1/77] out of print/many used
Jonathan Cape hardcover [4/78] out of print/used

"So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away" [written 1979, published 1982] ISBN 0-395-70674-2)

"An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey" [written 1982, published 1994] ISBN 0-312-27710-5)



Poetry,  Stories  &  Other  Works

"The God of The Martians" [1955 unpublished novel]

"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" [1968]

"Rommel Drives On Deep Into Egypt" [1970]

Listening To Richard Brautigan spoken-word album   "Listening To Richard Brautigan" [1970 spoken-word album]
Collector's Choice Expanded Edition audio CD [1/2005] for $12.98
Richard Brautigan reads thirty poems from "The Pill Versus The Springhill Mine Disaster", five stories from "Revenge of The Lawn", and selections from three novels: "A Confederate General From Big Sur", "Trout Fishing In America", and "In Watermelon Sugar"; the expanded CD edition includes extras

"Revenge of The Lawn: Stories 1962-1970" [1971] ISBN 0-671-20960-4)

"Loading Mercury With A Pitchfork" [1971]
ISBN 0-671-22263-5. ISBN 0-671-22271-6 pbk)

"The Beatles Lyrics Illustrated' [1976] with an Introduction by Richard Brautigan
http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Illustrated-Introduction-Brautigan-Richard/dp/B001V8VU4K/

"June 30th, June 30th" [1978] ISBN 0-440-04295-X)

"The Tokyo-Montana Express" [1980] ISBN 0-440-08770-8)

"Trailer" spec script [1982; unproduced]
Co-written by Richard Brautigan & Brad Donovan; about eccentric characters living in a mobile home park

Edna Webster Collection of Undiscovered Writings   "Richard Brautigan: The Edna Webster Collection of Undiscovered Writings"
[1999] Edited by Peter Webster

Over the years, Brautigan gave stories & poems to his surrogate mother Edna Webster 'to publish or to keep'; her son Peter published them in 1999. Included here are several poems & stories written when Brautigan was a teen; the stories are "A Visit From Jake", "Would You Like To Saddle Up A Couple of Goldfish and Swim To Alaska?", and "Desire In A Bowl of Potatoes".
Delacorte / Mariner Books 8x5½ pb [8/99] for $10.20

"Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook: The Movie" [1999 video release]
Written & produced by Evan Keliher; directed & edited by David Keliher;
Brautigan is credited as lighting technician; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb



Works  About  Richard  Brautigan

"Richard Brautigan" [1983] by Marc Chenetier /0416329608/

"Richard Brautigan" [1983] by Edward Halsey Foster /0805773789/

"Richard Brautigan" [1987] by Jay Boyer /0884300781/

"Downstream From Trout Fishing In America: A Memoir of Richard Brautigan" [1989]
by Keith Abbott 0884962938 + 0884963047

"Richard Brautigan: An Annotated Bibliography" [1990] by John F. Barber

Ianthe Brautigan's You Can't Catch Death   "You Can't Catch Death: A Daughter's Memoir" [2000]
by Ianthe Brautigan

St. Martin's Griffin 8¼x5½ pb [7/2001] out of print/used
St. Martin's Press 8½x5¾ hardcover [5/2000] out of print/many used

"A la recherche de Richard Brautigan" [2003]
by Thierry Séchan & Philippe Dijan /2859205233/

"Waltzing With The Captain: Remembering Richard Brautigan" [2004]
by Greg Keeler 0931659930

"Richard Brautigan: Essays On The Writings and Life" [2006]
by John F. Barber 0786425253

Jubilee Hitchhiker biography of Richard Brautigan by William Hjortsberg  "Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan" [2012]
800-plus-page biography by William Hjortsberg

Kindle Edition from Counterpoint [4/2012] for $16.99
Counterpoint 10x7 pb [2/2013] for $23.15
Counterpoint pb [2/2013] out of print/used
Counterpoint 10x7¼ hardcover [4/2012] for $31.38
Counterpoint hardcover [4/2012] out of print/used
author's official website



Friends & Family
Richard Gary Brautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1935, took off for San Francisco in 1956; the novel "Trout Fishing in America"
brought him international fame in 1967; he died of a self-inflicted gunshot in September 1984 at age 49.

first wife Virginia Dionne Alder Brautigan [], married in 1957, separated 1962, divorced 1970

daughter Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan [b. 1960]
granddaughter Elizabeth [b. 1986]

relationships with Janice Meissner (circa 1965), Marcia Pacaud (circa 1967), Valerie Estes (circa 1969), and Sherry Vetter (circa 1970)

second wife Akiko Yoshimura [] of Japan; married 1977; lived in Montana for two years; divorced in 1980

relationship with Marcia Clay (1981-82)

friend William Hjortsberg


L i n k s
Richard Brautigan entry at Wikipedia
Brautigan Bibliography and Archive - John F. Barber, Curator
The Richard Brautigan Archives [est. 2001]
JL's Richard Brautigan fansite
limited edition prints of Richard Brautigan photos [1963-78]

Grammy-nominated Trout Fishing In America folk duo



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