Producing an accurate Brautigan biography with depth and substance is problematic.

Brautigan himself helped create this problem through his hinting, conflating, or fictionalizing, both in his writings and stories told to friends and family, some of the autobiographical details of his life.

Accounts provided by friends and family are often confusing or conflicting.

As a result, the details of Brautigan's life are often sparse and based more on lore than fact.

Brautigan Bibliography and Archive attempts to rectify this problem by overlaying disparate information sources with ethnographic research to provide a basic, but accurate, accounting of Brautigan's life and works.
American novelist, poet, and writer, Richard Gary Brautigan (1935-1984) produced eleven novels, ten poetry collections, and two story collections, as well as five volumes of collected work, six nonfiction essays, and a record album of spoken voice recordings. Throughout all this work one notes Brautigan's characteristic idiosyncratic yet easy-to-read prose style: an offbeat combination of imagination, strange and detailed observation, whimsy, humor, and satire. His best known works include his novel, Trout Fishing in America, his collection of stories, Revenge of the Lawn, and his collection of poetry, The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster.

Brautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington, on 30 January 1935 and grew up in the American Northwest. As an adult he was mysterious about his family, sometimes saying he had none, sometimes weaving them into his writing in imaginative ways. A clear picture of his family history is, therefore, confusing. We do know, however, that had little contact with his father, that he had several step-fathers, and that he abandoned all family ties when he left his boyhood home for San Francisco. He married twice and is survived by a daughter.

LEARN more about Brautigan during the 1930s and 1940s.

By 1956, Brautigan had settled in San Francisco, California. There he sought to establish himself as a writer, was known for handing out his poetry on street corners, and often participated in "Blabbermouth Night" readings at The Place, a popular gathering spot for artists and poets. His first published "book" was The Return of the Rivers (1957), a single poem, followed by two collections of poetry: The Galilee Hitch-Hiker (1958), Lay the Marble Tea (1959).

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Although he knew the Beats, and they him, Brautigan always insisted he was not a part of their literary movement. Contemporary literary opinion supports this contention, seeing Brautigan, when his novel Trout Fishing in America catapulted him to international fame in 1967, as the writer best representative of the emerging counterculture. His first novel, A Confederate General from Big Sur (1964), met with no success when first published. Brautigan published four collections of poetry: The Octopus Frontier (1960), All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (1967), The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster (1968), and Please Plant This Book (1969), as well as another novel, In Watermelon Sugar (1968) during this decade.

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Brautigan vowed not to write sequels to Trout Fishing in America, however, and in subsequent novels experimented with different literary genres: The Abortion: An Historical Romance (1971), The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western (1974), Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery (1975), Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel (1976), and Dreaming of Babylon: A Detective Novel 1942 (1977). Collections of poetry published during this decade included Rommel Drives On Deep into Egypt (1970), Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork (1976), and June 30th, June 30th (1978). Brautigan also published two collections of stories: Revenge of the Lawn (1971) and The Tokyo-Montana Express (1979).

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General dismissal by literary critics reversed Brautigan's initial literary success and his popularity waned throughout the 1980s. His novel So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away (1982) was not well received. He remained popular in Japan, however, and Brautigan visited there for extended periods.

At the time of his death, in 1984, in Bolinas, California, Brautigan was largely ignored, or worse, negated by critics and pundits who trivialized his contribution to American literature.

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Overall, Brautigan is remembered for his detached, anonymous first person point of view, autobiographical prose style, and episodic narrative structure full of unconventional but vivid images powered by whimsy and metaphor. For example, Trout Fishing in America can be said to represent the novel itself being written by Brautigan, a character in the novel, a place, an outdoor sport, a religion, a state of mind, and a symbol of the American pastoral ideal lost to commercialism, environmental degradation, and social decay.

His final novel, An Unfortunate Woman (2000), was published post-humously, and with little notice from the reading public. Despite lack of sustained critical acclaim, however, Brautigan's work is currently translated into more than twenty languages, and he maintains strong interest among readers around the world attracted to his unique use of language and autobiographical style.

LEARN more about Brautigan's continuing influence and inspiration current day.
Brautigan was mysterious about his family, sometimes saying he had none, sometimes weaving them into his writing in imaginative ways.

A clear picture of his family history is, therefore, confusing.

We do know, however, that Brautigan had little contact with his real father, that he had several step-fathers, and that he abandoned all family ties when he left his boyhood home. He married twice and is survived by a daughter.

Information and resources for Brautigan's immediate family is below. Brautigan's great-grandmother.

Born: 20 April 1856, Collins, Texas
Died: 17 July 1930, Tacoma, Washington

Married: ***?***
Children:

1. Jess Ashlock
2. Lee Ashlock
3. Myrtle Ashlock (Oglesby) (Spokane, Washington)
4. ***daughter; name unknown***
   Married: Lewis [or Louis] Fuller (St. Louis, Missouri)
5. Bessie Cordelia Ashlock

Brautigan's grandmother. Known as Bessie, Bess, and Moonshine Bess. Married and started her family in St. Louis, Missouri. Moved to Tacoma, Washington, where they lived at 813 East 65th Street, following birth of son, Edward, in 1916. Allegedly, made and sold whiskey there during Prohibition. Moved to St. Helens, Oregon, in 1929 where she bought and managed [or worked in] a restaurant on Strand Street along the Columbia River until 1949. Sent money home monthly to the children in Tacoma, Washington.

Born: 30 Sept. 1881, St. Louis, Missouri
Died: 19 April 1950, St. Helens, Oregon
Married: Michael Joseph Keho
Reportedly, Keho was committed to a mental hospital in 1913 where he remained until his death in 1930.

Children:

1. Eveline Elaine Keho (Fjetland)
   Born: 29 January 1910, St. Louis, Missouri
   Died: 31 January 1998, Tacoma, Washington
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   Grandma Ricky passed away in her ninetieth year, leaving a legacy of love and values to her friends and children.
   
   Born in St. Louis, MO, she grew up in Tacoma and married Jacob Fjetland, who preceded her in death. They raised 3 children: Jim (wife Patricia) of Burien, Ray (wife Peggy) of Puyallup, Jacqueline Grant of Lake Forest, CA, and stepson Robert (wife C-C) of San Jose, CA; grandchildren, Brita Powloski of Puyallup, Sonya Fjetland of Puyallup, Christian Wiener of Seattle, Jason Fjetland of Federal Way; 1 great-granddaughter, Jamie; sister Mary Lou Folston of Eugene, OR. Her many adopted children included Donna Gibson and Helmut Heim.
   
   Memorial Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, 1998 in the Mt. View Valley Chapel. Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home. 584-0252.
   
   ([Tacoma] The News Tribune 3 Feb. 1998: B4)
   
   Married: Jacob Anton Fjetland
   Born: 1908 Tacoma, Washington
   Died: 7 March 1963, Tacoma, Washington
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   Native of City Stricken at 55
   Jacob Anton (Jack) Fjetland, 55, of 1841 E. Sherman St., a native Tacoman, died Thursday in a local hospital. He had spent all his life here and was a salesman for the Klizer and Blair Co.
   
   Mr. Fjetland was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
   
   Surviving are his wife, Eveline; three sons James K. and Raymond A., both of Tacoma, and Robert J. of California; two sisters, Miss Jacqueline Ann Fjetland of Tacoma and Mrs. Jack Schultz of Spokane; a brother, Clarence M. of Tacoma; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Knute Fjetland of Seattle; and three grandchildren.
   
   Services will be announced by Mountain View Funeral Home.
   
   ([Tacoma] The News Tribune 9 Mar. 1963: 2)
   
   
2. Lulu Mary Keho
   Born: 7 April 1911, St. Louis, Missouri
   Brautigan's mother. See more below.

Married: George Jesse Dixon
Children:

1. Jesse Woodrow Dixon
   Born: 21 July 1914, St. Louis, Missouri
   Died: 8 May 1930, Tacoma, Washington
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   Jesse W. Dixon
   Jesse W. Dixon, 16 died Thursday afternoon in a local hospital. He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Bessie Dixon, a brother, Edward, and two sisters, Lulu and Evelline, all of the home at 812 East 65th street. The body is at the Cassedy and Allen mortuary, pending funeral announcements.
   
   ([Tacoma] The News Tribune 9 May 1930:17)
   
   
2. Edward Martin Dixon
   Born: 29 September 1916, St. Louis, Missouri
   Died: 11 August 1942, Sitka, Alaska
   Brautigan's "Uncle Edward,'"subject of "Farewell, Uncle Edward, and All the Uncle Edwards" in June 30th, June 30th.

Brautigan's mother. Baptized Lula Mary but known as Mary Lou.

Born: 7 April 1911, St. Louis, Missouri
Last address: Eugene, Oregon

Married: Bernard Frederick Brautigan, Jr.
18 January 1927, Tacoma, Washington
Born: 29 July 1908, Winlock, Washington
Died: 27 May 1994, Tacoma, Washington

Separated: 25 November 1938 Divorced: 17 January 1940

Barnard remarried: Ophelia Glass (***?***) Children: Leona (Glass) Pezanowski (**?**-2000) Married Mike Pezanowski) Helen (Glass) Anderson Edward Glass Raymond Glass

Children:

1. Richard Gary Brautigan
   Born: 30 January 1935, Tacoma, Washington
   Died: 14 October 1984, Bolinas, California

Married(?): Arthur Martin Titland
Born: 1901
Died: 18 August 1969, Seattle, Washington
Children:

1. Barbara Titland (Fitzhugh)
   Born: 1 May 1939

Married: Robert Geoffrey "Tex" Porterfield
20 September 1943
Born: 9 August 1905, Deadwood, South Dakota
Died: 22 March 1969, Reno, Nevada
Divorced: 12 July 1950

Children:

1. Sandra Jean Porterfield (Stair)
   Born: 1 April 1945

Married: William Folston, Jr.
12 June 1950, Reno, Nevada
Born: 23 November 1917, Mitchell, Oregon
Died: December 1976, Eugene, Oregon(?)
The marriage application stated "Mary Lou Porterfield" as previously married and her husband deceased. Note her divorce from Porterfield, who was very much alive, comes a full month later.

Children:

1. William David Folston
   Born: 19 December 1950

Born: 30 January 1935, Tacoma, Washington
Died: 14 September(?) 1984, Bolinas, California
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Married: Virginia Dionne Alder
8 June 1957, Reno, Nevada
Separated: 24 December 1962
Divorced: 17 February 1970
Alder began an affair with Tony Aste prior to her separation from Brautigan. With Aste she had three children: Ellen, Mara, and Jesse. In 1969, the family moved to Valley of the Moon in Sonoma County (17140 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, California).

Children:

1. Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan
   Born: 25 March 1960
   Married: Paul Swenson
   5 September 1981, Santa Rosa, California

Married: Akiko Nishizawa Yoshimura
1 December 1977, Richmond, California
Born: 1944, Sapporo, Japan
Separated: 4(?) December 1979
Original petition filed 10 January 1980
Interlocutory decree entered San Francisco County Superior Court, 30 October 1980.
Divorced: 7 November 1980, San Francisco, California
Remarried and now known as Akiko Sakagami. Lives in Los Angeles.
According to his Birth Certificate, Richard Gary Brautigan was born Wednesday, 30 January 1935, 12:30 AM, Pacific Time, in Tacoma, Washington

This astrology chart, dated 4 March 1968 in Brautigan's handwriting, was prepared by a fan and sent to Brautigan.

VIEW a larger image of Brautigan's astrology chart.