Misplaced Pages

#942057

55-469: Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c.  September 16, 1984 ) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been published both in the United States and internationally throughout Europe, Japan, and China. He

110-530: A chord with readers, receiving much critical acclaim. In 1943 Hooton met the authors Nettie Palmer and Miles Franklin while they were travelling through Newcastle . Through Miles Franklin he was introduced to the writings of Carl Sandburg and the American literary scene. Moving to Sydney in 1943 Hooton submitted a book of poems titled "Leave Yourself Alone" to a publisher without success. Later he self-published "Things You See When You Haven't Got A Gun". In

165-639: A daughter, Barbara Ann, born on May 1, 1939, in Tacoma. Brautigan said that he had a very traumatic experience when, at age nine, his mother left him and his four-year-old sister unattended in a motel room in Great Falls, Montana , for two days. On January 20, 1943, Mary Lou married fry cook Robert Geoffrey Porterfield. The couple had a daughter named Sandra Jean, born April 1, 1945, at Salem General Hospital in Salem, Oregon. Mary Lou told Brautigan that Porterfield

220-592: A line in "Trout Fishing in America"). The Lovely Eggs praise Brautigan in their song "Have You Ever Heard A Digital Accordion?". The song "Brought Again" by Atlanta band "Insane Jane" on their 1993 album Each Finger is a reference to Brautigan. The Boo Radleys ' song "Boo Forever", released in 1992, was written about Brautigan and songwriter Martin Carr released a solo album, All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace , in 2004. The documentarian Adam Curtis produced

275-973: A lot of the things I've done since I've done out of a desire to please Harry Hooton..." While Hooton was living a very bohemian life in Sydney, he was connecting with literary people in Japan, India, Greece, South Africa, England, France, New Zealand, and the USA. Hooton had corresponded with counter-culture figures in California, and with Tuli Kupferberg who would later form the rock group The Fugs . He contributed to many periodicals and journals in addition to those he brought out himself. "He has published not only in Australia but in London, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, etc, and has had some material translated into Greek. He

330-536: A mayonnaise jar, a Ben Franklin statue in San Francisco's Washington Square and trout, reappear throughout the book. The cover of the book is a photograph of Brautigan and a friend identified as Michaela Le Grand, whom he referred to as his "Muse." The photo was taken by Erik Weber, in San Francisco's Washington Square Park in front of the Benjamin Franklin statue . The first chapter of the book

385-813: A message. Brautigan once wrote, "All of us have a place in history. Mine is clouds." Because Brautigan frequently wrote in first-person and included locations and events with which he is associated, readers might assume his work is autobiographical. Writing in 1972, Long Island University professor Terrence Malley points out that "Brautigan's books are for the most part both directly autobiographical and curiously elusive . . . It's usually difficult to separate confession from whimsy in Brautigan's writing" (18). Several later authors have cited Brautigan as an influence, including Haruki Murakami , W. P. Kinsella , Christopher Moore and Sarah Hall . The Library for Unpublished Works envisioned by Brautigan in his novel The Abortion

440-483: A new magazine, untitled, unpretentious and called simply "No. 1", the poetry of Hooton, A. D. Hope , and Gary Lyle was featured. Hooton and Hope also featured in "No. 2". Hooton's "Things You See When You Haven't Got A Gun" was reviewed by Max Harris in one line in the Ern Malley issue of Angry Penguins , "Our anarchist bull careers madly through his intellectual fog." In Sydney after World War II , Hooton

495-685: A proposed edition of Brautigan's collected poems was rejected by his estate. In November 2016 the French publisher Le Castor Astral published a bilingual edition entitled Tout ce que j'ai à déclarer: œuvre poétique complète. On 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 depression caused him to become increasingly abusive and Alder ended

550-555: A relationship with Marcia Clay of San Francisco from 1981 to 1982. He also pursued a brief relationship with Janice Meissner, a woman from the North Beach community of San Francisco. Other relationships 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

605-509: A series of films for the BBC about the effect of computers on society called All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace . In March 1994, a teenager named Peter Eastman Jr. from Carpinteria, California , legally changed his name to Trout Fishing in America, and now teaches English at Waseda University in Japan. The short story "Your Clothes Are Dead" by Dave McKean , included in a collection of short comics called Pictures That Tick (2009),

SECTION 10

#1732793060943

660-409: A spoken-word album for The Beatles ' short-lived record-label, Zapple . The label was shut down by Allen Klein before the recording could be released. It was released in 1970 on Harvest Records as Listening to Richard Brautigan . In the 1970s Brautigan experimented with literary genres. He published five novels (the first of which, The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 , had been written in

715-559: A surrogate mother to Brautigan. According to several accounts, Brautigan stayed with the Websters for about a year before leaving for San Francisco for the first time in August 1954. He returned to Oregon several times, apparently for lack of money. On December 14, 1955, Brautigan was arrested for throwing a rock through a police station window, supposedly to be sent to prison and fed. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and fined $ 25. He

770-502: A waitress. In May 1934, eight months before Richard's birth, Bernard and Mary Lou separated. Brautigan said that he met his biological father only twice. But after Richard's death, Bernard appeared to have been unaware that Richard was 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 a son?" In 1938, Brautigan and his mother began living with Arthur Martin Titland. The couple had

825-433: A writer. He was known for handing out his poetry on the streets and performing at poetry clubs. In early 1956, Brautigan typed a three-page manuscript and sent it to Macmillan Inc. for publication. The manuscript consisted of two pages with 14 poems and a page with the 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

880-579: Is about a meeting provoked by memories of, and buying a copy of, Brautigan's The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 . Brautigan's daughter, Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan , describes her memories of her father in her book You Can't Catch Death (2000). In March 2018, poet Francis Daulerio published Please Plant This Book – a reinterpretation of and homage to Brautigan's book of the same name on its 50th anniversary. The publication contained seeds to be planted, packed in sleeves which carry poems by Daulerio and illustrations by Scott Hutchison . Profits from

935-583: Is an anarchist." Hooton never completed his philosophical treatise, titled "Militant Materialism ", although he did complete six of its eight chapters. His ideas were magically simple. Leave man alone, man is perfect. Concentrate instead on matter. He formulated what he called Anarcho-technocracy: 'The Politics of Things'. Hooton saw proof copies of the last book published during his lifetime, It Is Great To Be Alive , published by Margaret Elliott ( Margaret Fink ), just before he died of cancer in 1961. An 83-minute experimental film, Harry Hooton – Outsider Poet

990-406: Is an extended and fanciful description of this photo. The book is dedicated "For Jack Spicer and Ron Lowinshohn." Spicer reportedly helped Brautigan revise and edit the book as it was written, as well as arrange for public readings to help promote it. Arion Press published a deluxe edition of Trout Fishing in America in 2003, with a preface by Ron Loewinsohn , and a color lithograph in half

1045-468: Is best known for his novels Trout Fishing in America (1967), In Watermelon Sugar (1968), and The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 (1971). Brautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington , the only child of 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),

1100-415: Is far better known overseas than he is here". Hooton argued that man should have power over things, including machines, but never over other men, applying to himself the term "anarcho-technocrat". "He regarded the age of man as passed, and sees the age of the machine as the proper object of pursuit... In his quest for power over machines, Hooton is a technocrat, and in his opposition to power over men, he

1155-582: Is no place where it will fit in". In 2005, the X-Ray Book Company published 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), a single poem, followed by two collections of poetry: The Galilee Hitch-Hiker (1958) and Lay the Marble Tea (1959). During the 1960s Brautigan became involved in

SECTION 20

#1732793060943

1210-471: Is stranger than Fishing", the title taken from Brautigan. Trout Fishing in America Technically it is Brautigan's first novel, as he completed it in 1961. But his book A Confederate General from Big Sur was published first. Trout Fishing In America is an abstract book without a clear central storyline. Instead, the book contains a series of anecdotes broken into chapters, with

1265-612: The Evergreen Review , Volume 7, No. 31 (Oct.–Nov. 1963). The phrase "Trout Fishing in America" is used in various ways: it is the title of the book, a character, a hotel, the act of fishing itself, a modifier (one character is named "Trout Fishing in America Shorty") and other things. Brautigan uses the theme of trout fishing as a point of departure for thinly veiled and often comical critiques of mainstream American society and culture. Several symbolic objects, such as

1320-520: The Eugene High School News . He also played on the school's basketball team. He was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall by the time of his graduation. On December 19, 1952, Brautigan's first published poem, "The Light", appeared in the school newspaper. Brautigan graduated with honors from Eugene High School on June 9, 1953. After graduation, he moved in with his best friend Peter Webster, and Peter's mother Edna Webster became

1375-552: The Great Depression , in 1936, just as his first pieces of writing were being published, Hooton was introduced to the poet Marie E. J. Pitt living in Melbourne and carried on a correspondence with her for the next eight years. Hooton's first book of poetry, "These Poets", appeared in 1941, published at his own expense in a small print run of up to 400 copies, most of which Hooton either gave away or swapped. It struck

1430-707: The Pacific Northwest for nine years before settling in Eugene, Oregon , in August 1944. Brautigan drew from his childhood in the poems and stories that he wrote from as early as the age of 12. His novel So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away (1982) is loosely based on childhood events, including an incident in which Brautigan accidentally shot the brother of a close friend in the ear, injuring him slightly. On September 12, 1950, Brautigan enrolled at South Eugene High School . He wrote for his high school newspaper,

1485-598: The Brautigan Library was moved to the museum in 2010. Kumquat Meringue was a literary journal published in Rockford, Illinois , dedicated to the memory and work of Brautigan. Saltpeter, a London-based production company, launched an international creative society, the Brautigan Book Club (BBC), which uses Brautigan and his work as a creative jumping off point. In 2012, Saltpeter was developing

1540-415: The album Fear Fun by Father John Misty , references the novella with the following lyrics: "Trout Fishing in America made me go and buy a pole. But by the time I got around to reading the book, I was a celebrated deep sea pro." Harry Hooton Henry (Harry) Arthur Hooton (9 October 1908 – 27 June 1961) was an Australian poet and social commentator whose writing spanned the years 1930s–1961. He

1595-540: The book were to go to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Hutchison took his own life in May 2018, and in September an expanded version was published as a chapbook, the original edition having sold out, containing a foreword by Ianthe Brautigan and an afterword by Scottish poet Michael Pedersen. The music video for Kat Meoz 's "Here I Wait" directed by Kansas Bowling recreates Brautigan's book covers and features

1650-541: The burgeoning San Francisco counterculture scene , often appearing as a performance poet at concerts and participating in the various activities of The Diggers . He contributed several short pieces to be used as broadsides by the Communication Company. Brautigan was also a writer for Change , an underground newspaper created by Ron Loewinsohn . In the summer of 1961, while camping in southern Idaho with his wife and daughter Ianthe, Brautigan completed

1705-490: The cover of Revenge of the Lawn . Brautigan was an alcoholic throughout his adult life; according to his daughter, he often mentioned suicide over a period of more than a decade before ending his life. In 1984, at age 49, Richard Brautigan had moved to Bolinas, California , where he was living alone in a large, old house that he had bought with his earnings years earlier. He died of a self-inflicted .44 Magnum gunshot wound to

Richard Brautigan - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-606: The edition by Wayne Thiebaud . Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt named a crater explored on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley as " Shorty ", after the character in the book. In March 1994, a teenager named Peter Eastman Jr. from Carpinteria, California legally changed his name to "Trout Fishing in America". At around the same time, National Public Radio reported on a young couple who had named their baby "Trout Fishing in America". The song, "Tee Pees 1-12", from

1815-485: The feeling of poetry. Evident also are themes of Zen Buddhism, such as the duality of the past and the future and the impermanence of the present. Brautigan's last publication before his death in 1984 was his novel So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away (1982). The Edna Webster Collection of Undiscovered Writings was published in 1999. Brautigan, then twenty-one, had given this collection of writings to Edna Webster in 1955, when he left Oregon for San Francisco. In 2002,

1870-495: The head. His decomposed body was found by David Fechheimer, a friend and private investigator, on October 25, 1984. The body was found on the living room floor, in front of a large window that, though shrouded by trees, looked out over the Pacific Ocean. Due to the decomposition of the body it is speculated that Brautigan had ended his life over a month earlier, on September 16, 1984, days after talking to friend Marcia Clay on

1925-571: The late 1960s, even though he was said to be contemptuous of hippies . Trout Fishing in America has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. With his earnings, Brautigan bought a house in Bolinas and a ranch in Montana. He and his wife had separated when their daughter was two, and Ianthe lived mostly with him until she married. During the 1960s Brautigan published four collections of poetry as well as another novel, In Watermelon Sugar (1968). In

1980-401: The mid-1960s) and a collection of short stories, Revenge of the Lawn (1971). In 1974 The Cowell Press collected seven of his broadside poems into the book Seven Watermelon Suns . The limited edition of ten copies included embossed color etchings by Ellen Meske. "When the 1960s ended, he was the baby thrown out with the bath water ," said his friend and fellow writer, Thomas McGuane . "He

2035-433: The novels A Confederate General from Big Sur and Trout Fishing in America . A Confederate General from Big Sur was his debut novel, published in 1964, and met with little critical or commercial success. But when Trout Fishing in America was published in 1967, Brautigan was catapulted to international fame. Literary critics labeled him the writer most representative of the emerging countercultural youth movement of

2090-664: The only footage in existence of the actual Willard which inspired Willard and His Bowling Trophies . Brautigan is mentioned in the song "I Like the Way You Walk" by the Donkeys from the 2011 album Born With Stripes , and by Shawn Mullins in "Twin Rocks, Oregon". "A Beautiful Poem" is read by Matthew McConaughey and plays a significant role in the 2019 movie The Beach Bum . The Volcano Suns album of 1986, The Bright Orange Years includes an instrumental called "Truth

2145-822: The relationship on December 24, 1962, though the divorce was not finalized until July 28, 1970. Brautigan continued to reside in San Francisco after the separation, while Alder settled in 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 while living in Tokyo. The couple settled in Pine Creek, Park County, Montana , for two years. Brautigan and Yoshimura divorced in 1980. Brautigan had

2200-593: The same characters often reappearing from story to story. The settings of most of the chapters occur in three locales: Brautigan's childhood in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.; his day-to-day adult 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. An excerpt appeared as the lead piece in

2255-445: The song, "Richard Brautigan", on his Armory Square album in 1993. Trout Fishing in America is a musical duo which performs folk rock and children's music. Neko Case based her song "Margaret vs. Pauline" on the female characters of In Watermelon Sugar . The band b-flower is named after Richard Brautigan, being a shortened version of "Brautigan Flower". They also reference his work in songs such as "The Eternal 59th Second" (titled after

Richard Brautigan - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-556: The spring of 1967 he was Poet-in-Residence at the California Institute of Technology . During this year, his chapbook, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace , was published by The Communication Company. It was printed in an edition of 1,500 copies and distributed free. From 1968 to 1970 Brautigan had 23 short pieces published in Rolling Stone magazine. From late 1968 to February 1969, Brautigan recorded

2365-485: The telephone (neighbors heard a loud noise that Sunday while watching an NFL game). Brautigan was survived by his parents, both ex-wives, and his daughter Ianthe. According to Michael Caines, writing in The Times Literary Supplement , the story that Brautigan left a suicide note that simply read: "Messy, isn't it?" is apocryphal. Ianthe Brautigan has confirmed that her father did not leave such

2420-593: The world premiere of "the Brautigan opera" developed from Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned the World , a play by Los Angeles screenwriter Erik Patterson. The industrial rock band Machines of Loving Grace took its name from one of Brautigan's poems. The album Boo, Forever by indie rock band Field Guides takes its title from the Brautigan poem of the same name. John Markoff titled his 2015 book Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest For Common Ground Between Humans and Robots . Syracuse, New York songwriter Gary Frenay, released

2475-457: Was a gentle, troubled, deeply odd guy." Generally dismissed by literary critics and increasingly abandoned by his readers, Brautigan found his popularity waned throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. His work remained popular in Europe, however, as well as in Japan, where Brautigan visited several times. To some of his critics, Brautigan was naive. Lawrence Ferlinghetti said of him, "As an editor I

2530-403: Was always waiting for Richard to grow up as a writer. It seems to me he was essentially a naïf, and I don't think he cultivated that childishness, I think it came naturally. It was like he was much more in tune with the trout in America than with people." Brautigan's writings are characterized by a remarkable and humorous imagination. The permeation of inventive metaphors lent even his prose works

2585-644: Was committed to the 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 was treated with electroconvulsive therapy 12 times. While institutionalized, he began writing The God of the Martians , a manuscript of 20 very short chapters totaling 600 words. The manuscript

2640-467: Was compelling and characteristically welcomed by those who would otherwise be in disagreement. Many years later, Germaine Greer noted his influence on her: ...Harry, the utopian anarchist who had admired her red stockings, who believed people were perfect and who was not weighed down by the tremendous forces the anarchistic pessimists felt bore down on them all the time. "Alas, I understand him much better now," she said, twenty years later. "... but I think

2695-476: Was described by a biographer as ahead of his time, or rather "of his time while the majority of progressive artists and thinkers in Australia lagged far behind". Initially a socialist and " wobbly ", he later professed anarchism and became an associate of the Sydney Push during the 1940s, with connections to many other Australian writers, film makers and artists. Hooton's constant attitude and literary style

2750-830: Was drawn to the intellectual circles of Sydney University , the Sydney Push and the wider artistic society of the Lincoln coffee lounge, described by Richard Appleton as the "Mecca of the Australian arts", and the Tudor Hotel. Appleton and others have noted Hooton's opposition to the generally favoured realist philosophy of Professor John Anderson and its activist offshoot, the Libertarian Society. When Anderson's realist philosophy held intellectual sway at Sydney University, Hooton attacked vehemently philosophy and universities (he claimed sometimes that Anderson

2805-620: Was extravagant, provocative and explicitly outrageous. Hooton was born in Doncaster , Yorkshire, England His father was Levi Hooton, a railway shunter, and his mother's maiden name was Margaret Lester-Glaister. He had an older brother, Frank. At the age of 16 he arrived in Sydney on 28 October 1924, on the ship Demosthenes as part of an Empire scheme, the Dreadnought Trust, with fifty-nine other boys. After humping his swag around much of New South Wales and Queensland through

SECTION 50

#1732793060943

2860-744: Was his biological father, and Brautigan began using Richard Gary Porterfield as his name. Mary Lou separated from Porterfield in 1946. She married William David Folston Sr. on June 12, 1950. The couple had a son named William David Jr., born on December 19, 1950, in Eugene. Brautigan said that Folston was a violent alcoholic, whom Richard had seen abusing his mother. Brautigan was raised in poverty; he told his daughter stories of his mother sifting rat feces out of their supply of flour before making flour-and-water pancakes. Brautigan's family found it difficult to obtain food, and on some occasions they did not eat for days. The family lived on welfare and moved about

2915-712: Was his main enemy, although he defended Anderson when he thought he was being wrongly attacked). To a literary world influenced by people such as Joyce , Yeats , Pound and Eliot , Hooton decried them as anti-artists, philistines and charlatans. He admitted only a few people as poets, including Whitman , Wilde and Henry Lawson . Appleton explained: "Hooton held that polemic was an art form and that all poetry should be didactic", an obtuse view which, coupled with his paradoxical debating style, brought Hooton into conflict with Libertarians (who especially revered Joyce's Ulysses ) and with more puristic poets such as Lex Banning , James McAuley and A. D. Hope . Yet his presence

2970-771: Was housed at the Brautigan Library in Burlington, Vermont , until 1995 when it was moved to the nearby Fletcher Free Library where it remained until 2005. Although there were plans to move it to the Presidio branch of the San Francisco Public Library, these never materialized. However, after an agreement was made between Brautigan's daughter, Ianthe Brautigan, and the Clark County Historical Museum (in Vancouver, Washington),

3025-514: Was sent to at least two editors but was rejected by both, and remains unpublished. (A copy of the manuscript was recently discovered with the papers of the last of those editors, Harry Hooton .) On February 19, 1956, Brautigan was released from the hospital and briefly lived with his mother, stepfather, and siblings in Eugene. He left for San Francisco, where he would spend most of the rest of his life except for periods in Tokyo and Montana . In San Francisco, Brautigan sought to establish himself as

#942057