Papers, letters, and other documents associated with Brautigan and his writings are collected and archived in several places.
The Angel Hair Archive, 1965-1973
The Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
New York University
New York, New York

Angel Hair magazine and books were co-edited by poets Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh in New York, New York and Bolinas, California from Spring 1966-1978. A total of six issues were published from Spring 1966-Spring 1969. This archive is a collection of correspondence submitted to them during 1965 to 1973, as well as production files, including catalogs, a galley proof, manuscripts, mockups and issues 1-6 of Angel Hair, and the original manuscripts of Bun. Some of the key correspondents include Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jasper Johns, Paul Blackburn, Robert Bly, Sam Shepard, Gerard Malanga, John Giorno, Allen Ginsberg, and Richard Brautigan. Purchased from Serendipity Books, in March 1972.

LEARN more about this collection at the Fales Library and Special Collections website.

Brautigan's letters to Anne Waldman read:


The Barry Miles Papers, 1958-1990
Butler Library
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
New York, New York

Barry Miles (1943 - ), known as Miles, is a writer, editor, and publisher, basing his literary activities in London. In 1968, he was engaged by Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles as label manager for Zapple, the experimental spoken-word division of Apple Records. Brautigan was selected early on for inclusion in the planned series of record albums. These letters to and from Brautigan deal with arrangements to produce Brautigan's record album, "Listening to Richard Brautigan."

In his first letter to Brautigan (sent care of City Lights Books) on 3 October 1968, Miles introduced the Apple Records project saying, "We hope to bring out an album every month as a magazine in sound and possibly to include certain literature, artwork and illustrations as well." The cost of each album was to be kept as low as possible and all means of distribution (regular and underground) were to be utilized in order "to bring poetry and literature to as many people as possible."

According to Miles, other people contacted included Henry Miller, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Charles Olsen. He hoped also to include Anais Nin, Robert Creeley, Edward Dorn, Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett, Gary Snyder "and of course the younger British poets. We would also like to get Ezra Pound to read his Confucian Analicts." Miles asked Brautigan to send "five minutes of you on tape reading."

Brautigan's letter to Barry Miles reads:


An assistant for Miles, Sarah Fenwick, wrote to Brautigan on 22 October 1968 acknowledging receipt of his letter and saying, "Miles is in Italy at the moment, but should be back shortly and will be writing to you then—I am sure he will like your idea of the record as that is exactly the type of thing he wants to do."

Miles did like the project and wrote to Brautigan on 13 December 1968 "to confirm that we very much want to make a record with you and particularly like the idea of your vision of America in words and music." Miles suggested a January (1969) meeting in California and asked Brautigan to "let me have some work" to go in his magazine Long Hair.

Miles wrote again, on 2 January 1969 saying "I shall be in California either the first or second week of February to attempt to record some of the spoken word albums for Apple." Miles asked Brautigan to "let me know if you will be there at that time and when it would be convenient for us to get together." He also asked for Brautigan's telephone number. He concluded his letter saying, "I hope to have all the [money] details very shortly."

Brautigan's letter to Barry Miles reads:


One of these poems was "Discovery." The other was ***?***. Miles wrote on 7 January 1969 saying "our letters crossed!" He said the record project was moving more slowly than he would like, but "I'm very excited still about the prospects of the whole thing." He also provided some details (projections really) regarding the Apple royalty arrangements. He concluded his letter, "I like the poems very much, on third reading they still make me smile."

Brautigan's letter to Barry Miles reads:


In February 1969, Brautigan recorded six hours of reading and recitation at Golden State Recorders, a San Francisco recording studio. The tape was edited under close supervision by Brautigan and then sent to Miles in London. In early March, Brautigan wrote Miles.

Brautigan's letter to Barry Miles reads:


Apparently Miles found some problem with one track on the tape, "Sounds of My Life," and reedited the track. Although no record exists in this collection, he apparently wrote Brautigan about the situation.

Brautigan's letter to Barry Miles reads:


Copies of this letter were also sent to Jack Oliver and Pat Slattery. Other letters were obviously exchanged but are missing from this collection. In one, Miles apparently asked for copyright information regarding Brautigan's novel A Confederate General from Big Sur, for inclusion on the record cover.

Brautigan letter in response to Bary Miles reads:


LEARN more about Brautigan's record album, "Listening to Richard Brautigan."
Blackstone Press: Papers and Ephemera, 1974-1998
Department of Special Collections
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California

Contains papers and ephemera from authors associated with Peter Rutledge Koch's fine arts press (Black Stone Press, Missoula, Montana, 1974-1978 and Peter Koch, Printer, San Francisco area, 1978-1998).
City Lights Books Records 1947 -
The Bancroft Library
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Correspondence, editorial files, publicity, clippings, of and pertaining to City Lights Books, and papers of owner-publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Includes some correspondence with Richard Brautigan.

LEARN more about this collection at the Bancroft Library website.
David Bromige Correspondence 1966-1970
Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California-San Diego
San Diego, California

David Bromige, poet, playwright, and educator, is associated with the Black Mountain School of poetry, particularly with his two mentors, Robert Creeley and Robert Duncan. This collection includes materials from Ted Berrigan, Richard Brautigan, Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, Clayton Eshleman, Denise Levertov, George Oppen, and Gary Snyder.
The Donald Allen Collection 1935-1983
Geisel Library
University of California-San Diego
San Diego, California

In addition to editing Richard Brautigan's first four books, Donald M. Allen worked with many of the important Beat and contemporary poets and writers. This collection includes manuscripts and correspondence with other editors and writers. Of note are the materials associated with Brautigan's Confederate General from Big Sur, as well as Allen's correspondence with Brautigan and other ephemera.

LEARN more about this collection at the Geisel Library website.
Donald Merriam Allen Manuscript
Department of Special Collections
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California

Unpublished Anthology of the San Francisco Renaissance, ca. 1965
As Donald M. Allen notes,

In the mid-1960s Robin Blaser and I worked to prepare a large anthology of the San Francisco Renaissance writers. . . . Most of our tentative selections were poems, of course, but we also planned to include prose work by Jim Herndon, Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac. Then events intervened; Jack Spicer died soon after the Berkeley Poetry Conference in 1965, Robin moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a post at Simon Fraser University, and I became more involved with work for Grove Press and in setting up my own small publishing company [Four Seasons Foundation]. Work on our anthology was suspended, as it turned out, for good.

Included in this collection are notes for the plans for the anthology and the poems collected from which a final choice would be made.
The Ghost Dance Archive
The Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
New York University
New York, New York

Hugh Fox, poet, scholar, teacher, and archealogist, started Ghost Dance: The International Quarterly of Experimental Poetry in 1968 while teaching at Loyola in Los Angeles, California. The magazine attracted a number of noteable contemporary poets and incorporated Latino material, providing English and Spanish translations of most contributions. An anthology of Ghost Dance material was published in 1994 by Whitston Press.

Brautigan's letter to Hugh Fox reads:

James Koller Papers
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Homer Babbidge Library
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut

Includes correspondence with over 70 individuals, carbons or drafts of Koller's letters, working manuscripts of five collections of poetry (one of which is unpublished), and two novels. Authors of correspondence include Paul Blackburn, Richard Brautigan, Robert Creeley, Edward Dorn, Larry Eigner, Theodore Enslin, Allen Ginsberg, Anselm Hollo, Robert Kelly, Joanne Kyger, Michael McClure, Jerome Rothenberg, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and Philip Whalen.

Brautigan's correspondence consists of one postcard and two letters, all very short. All are addressed to James Koller. Brautigan's postcard to James Koller reads:


Brautigan's letters to James Koller read:


The Lew Welch Papers 1943-1971
Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California-San Diego
San Diego, California

Lew Welch was a San Francisco Beat poet and friend of Brautigan. This collection contains extensive correspondence, as well as manuscripts of published and unpublished poetry, prose, plays, essays, songs, scrolls, and notebooks. Correspondents include Donald M. Allen, Richard Brautigan, Kirby Doyle, Marianne Moore, Gary Snyder, Charles Upton, and Philip Whalen. Considerable correspondence from Welch's mother, Dorothy Brownfield as well as the books from Welch's personal library.

Brautigan's letter to Lew Welch reads:


Welch, Lew. I Remain: The Letters of Lew Welch & The Correspondence of His Friends. Volume Two: 1960-1971. Ed. Donald Allen. Bolinas, CA: Grey Fox Press, 1980: 133.

Welch wrote a "Happy Birthday Poem" for Brautigan and a series of seven postcards between 3 June and 7 August 1970 (Welch 173). The poem reads:

The Once and Etc. Archive, ca. 1966-1967
The Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
New York University
New York, New York

A collection of correspondence and manuscripts associated with Thomas Clark, English poetry editor of Paris Review (1953-1974; founded by novelist Peter Matthiessen and Harold Hume; one of the great literary magazines of the latter half of the twentieth century).

Includes one letter and six manuscripts from Brautigan. The manuscripts, each typed with a red-bordered sticker in the right top corner of the first page containing Brautigan's 2546 Geary Street address in San Francisco, are chapters from Trout Fishing in America. They are:

• "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari"
• "The Last Year the Trout Came Up Hayman Creek"
• "The Mayor of the Twentieth Century"
• "Trout Fishing in America Nib"
• "Trout Fishing in America Terrorists"
• "Trout Fishing on the Bevel"

LEARN more about this collection at the Fales Library and Special Collections website.

Brautigan's letter to Thomas Clark reads:

The Paris Review Archive
Department of Special Collections
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

A collection of correspondence and manuscripts associated with Thomas Clark, English poetry editor of Paris Review (1953-1974; founded by novelist Peter Matthiessen and Harold Hume; one of the great literary magazines of the latter half of the twentieth century), and editor of his own magazine, described as "a one shot magazine," published in Brightlingsea, Essex, England, 1966-1967. Each issue was published as "Vol. 1 No. 1" and had a different cover title: Once, Twice, Thrice,Thrice and 1/2?, Frice, Vice, Spice, Slice, Ice, and Nice. All were collected in The Once Series and reprinted by Krause Reprint Company (New York, 1970).

Brautigan's story, "The Armored Car" was first published in the tenth issue, Nice.

Brautigan's letter to Thomas Clark reads:


Brautigan's letter apparently responded to Clark's request for a submission of writing for his magazine(s). In another letter, dated November 2, 1966 (see below), Brautigan sent six chapters from Trout Fishing in America for possible publication in Paris Review. The Penguin anthology Brautigan refers to was published in 1967 as The New Writing in the USA and included the chapter titled "The Cleveland Wrecking Yard." The issue of The Pacific Nation (not The Pacific Republic) featuring the first five chapters of Trout Fishing in America was also published in 1967, following the publication of the novel by Four Seasons Foundation.
The Review of Contemporary Fiction/Dalkey Archive
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California

Correspondence, literary manuscripts, typescripts, proofs and final copies, as well as interviews with contemporary writers associated with the The Review of Contemporary Fiction journal (1981- ). Includes materials related to Richard Brautigan.
The Richard Brautigan Papers, 1958-1984
The Bancroft Library
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Contains manuscripts of his writings, notebooks, financial records, correspondence, and other papers and memorabilia concerning Brautigan's life and career.

LEARN more about this collection at the Bancroft Library website.
The Robert Park Mills Papers, ca. 1961-1983
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

Robert Park Mills (1920-1986), American literary agent and editor worked with a number of highly regarded mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and fiction writers including Isaac Asimov, Richard Brautigan, Edward Bryant, Alice Childress, prolific writer of pulp fiction Norman Daniels, Avram Davidson, John Deck, Gordon Dickson, Thomas Disch, dancer Katherine Dunham, Harlan Ellison, Ronald Fair, Leonard Feather, Nat Hentoff, Langston Hughes, film critic Pauline Kael, Daniel Keyes, South African novelist (who wrote the screenplay for The Wizard of Oz) Noel Langley, Fritz Leiber, Helen McCloy, Naomi Mitchison, M. D. Post, Clifford Simak, China expert Edgar Snow, Walter Tevis, and many others.

The majority of the correspondence between Mills and Brautigan deals with Mills' efforts to secure a New York publisher for Brautigan's novel The Abortion.

LEARN more about this collection at the Ransom Humanities Research Center website.

Brautigan first contacted Mills in October 1966 asking him to act as his literary agent and to sell "three unpublished novels": Trout Fishing in America, In Watermelon Sugar, and The Abortion. All three novels were previously under contract with Grove Press but had been rejected for publication.

The contract was brokered by Donald M. Allen in 1963. Allen, poet, editor of The Evergreen Review, West Coast representative of Grove Press, and owner of the San Francisco nonprofit press Four Seasons Foundation convinced Barney Rossett at Grove Press in New York to publish four novels by Brautigan.

Already written were Trout Fishing in America, written in 1961, and A Confederate General from Big Sur. Grove Press was most interested in the latter, thinking it the more "traditional" novel. Thus, although it was the second novel Brautigan wrote, A Confederate General from Big Sur became the first published.

Disappointing sales of A Confederate General from Big Sur prompted Grove Press to reject the next two Brautigan novels in turn: In Watermelon Sugar, written in 1964, and The Abortion, written during the first five months of 1966 and to allow their contract for Trout Fishing in America to expire in July 1966. More . . .

In his first letter to Mills, Brautigan described his novels and asked whether Mills would represent him in finding a New York publisher. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills, in a letter dated 7 October 1966 replied that he had spoken with Susan Stanwood, "and she does indeed speak well of you." Mills said, "I like the sound of the reviews very much, and look forward to seeing your manuscripts. When I have read them, I will be in touch."

Brautigan wrote Mills again on 25 November 1966 with a change of plans.

Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills replied on 13 December 1966 saying he had read the manuscript for The Abortion, "and I like it very much." He said he would send the manuscript to Dan Wickenden, editor at Harcourt, Brace & World that same day, but in fact did not do so until the following day, 14 December 1966. "I am really very happy to have this book, and do hope to be able to do a good job for you," Mills concluded.

Brautigan replied the next day:


Harcourt, Brace & World rejected The Abortion. Mills offered the manuscript to Robert Gottlieb, editor at Simon & Schuster on 30 December 1966. In his letter to Gottlieb, Mills noted that "any Grove [Press]" option on A Confederate General from Big Sur had been eliminated.

Simon & Schuster rejected The Abortion. Mills wrote Brautigan on 19 January 1967 and forwarded extracts of the rejection letter from Harcourt, Brace & World. Mills said Gottlieb at Simon & Schuster had read the manuscript overnight "and reported that he was intrigued by it but didn't feel it was quite substantial enough to be a book. So I have now sent it off to Viking."

Viking rejected The Abortion. Mills wrote Brautigan on 10 February 1967 and forwarded the rejection letter from Viking. "The new editor in chief at Putnam's, Arthur Fields, knows of you, and has asked to see the manuscript. I am still convinced the book deserves to be published, and ought to be published, and I have got a lot of other places in mind to try if Arthur doesn't come through." Mills concludes his letter by asking, "What are you working on now?"

Brautigan's response to Mills reads:


Brautigan wrote again on 17 May 1967, seeking help determining how the Italian translation of A Confederate General from Big Sur was being received. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills responded on 23 May 1967 saying, "the best way to find out how it is doing is to go to the people who sold that to Rizzoli. Was that Grove? If so, they really ought to have that information, or be able to get it for you." Mills demured from calling the New York office of Rizzoli himself as "that would look a little funny since I was not involved in any way with the original deal."

Mills wrote Brautigan again on 31 May 1967 to say that Harper & Row had rejected The Abortion. "Apparently two readers read it before the editor, and one of them loved it, and one of them was confused by it—and the editor says he feels it's the kind of book one either loves or doesn't love, and that he didn't love it . . . though he like may things about it. On now to Random House. Sooner or later I'm going to sell this."

Random House rejected The Abortion. In his letter to Mills, editor Hal Scharlatt said, "I'm afraid that my initial reaction was only confirmed by a full reading: often charming and touching but so ephemeral that it is also forgettable."

Mills offered the The Abortion to William Morrow & Company on 27 June 1967. In his letter to editor Hillel Black, Mills said, "Brautigan lives in San Francisco, where he is, I gather, a sort of figure on the scene . . . . I like this—hope you will too."

William Morrow & Company rejected The Abortion. Mills offered the novel to to Donald Hunter at Dial Press on 13 July 1967. On the same day, Mills wrote to Brautigan, forwarding the rejection notice from William Morrow & Company. "As a rundown, it's now been to Harcourt, Brace, Simon and Schuster, Viking, Putnam's, Harper & Row, Random House and Morrow. It's been mostly liked in one way or another, but the consensus seems to be tht it's not quite a complete, unified book." Mills asked whether Brautigan would be interested in writing "an article or two for Horizon." His postscript asked, "Have you ever thought of doing a short story based on the library in THE ABORTION? That would not interfere with the sale of the book, after all."

Brautigan replied on 30 July 1967. Brautigan's letter to Robert Mills reads:


Mills offered The Abortion to Walter Bradbury at Doubleday & Company of 11 August 1967, asking if it would "be a possiblity for the Paris Review Editions." The same day, Mills wrote to Brautigan telling him the manuscript had been sent to the Paris Review Editions. His postscript asked, "Are you working on anything new?"

Brautigan wrote Mills on 28 August, asking about the Horizon article. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills responded on 30 August, saying he had not heard from Brautigan regarding the initial query regarding writing an article for Horizon. "If you ever answered that letter, either I never got it or I misplaced it. I don't remember hearing from you, however." Mills said he didn't think Brautigan had answered his question of whether he "ever thought of doing a short story based on the library in THE ABORTION." Mills reported novel was still at Doubleday, "where I offered it for the Paris Review Editions."

Doubleday & Company rejected The Abortion. In a letter to Mills, dated 31 August 1967, editor Walter I. Bradbury wrote, "While Brautigan displays writing skill [in the manuscript] I don't think this is a novel for Doubleday. It's imaginative in scope but the manuscript becomes little more than a series of descriptions, much of it related in dead-pan detail which doesn't make a suitable novel. But there is still that spark of skill in the author."

Brautigan wrote to Mills on 2 September 1967. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Handwritten notes on this letter (not in Brautigan's hand so presumably by Mills) and presumably resulting from a telephone conversation with Robert Cowley, editor of Horizon, read: "Got a story like it in works—which might have been yours if letter not lost." and "Have you ever done nonfiction Crowley cd [could] look at? Anything else non-hippy, you be interested."

Mills offered The Abortion to Timothy Seldes, Vice President at The Macmillan Company, on 6 September 1967, saying Brautigan "is something of a figure on the San Francisco literary scene." Mills concludes, "I am pleased with myself for always sending you nice, normal novels . . .?"

Doubleday & Company/Paris Review Editions rejected The Abortion. Mills wrote Brautigan with this news on 7 September 1967. Mills also said the failure of Brautigan's letter to arrive "had resulted in Horizon having somebody else look into that scene in San Francisco. That guy, as a matter of fact, tried to get in touch with you while he was there, but couldn't find you, they tell me." Horizon had a story "touching on the area of the hippies, and don't have room for another." But, said Mills, "Robert Cowley asks if you have ever done any non-fiction, and say that he would like very much to see some if you have." Mills said Cowley was still interested in Brautigan and would be happy to learn about any writing ideas Brautigan might have. Mills concluded saying The Abortion was with "an editor at Macmillam who I think will like it, and may he like it well enough to buy it . . ."

Macmillian rejected The Abortion. Seldes wrote to Mills on 28 September 1967 saying, "I am afraid it is not for us. Let's see some more 'nice, normal novels'." Mills sent The Abortion to Eugene Rachlis at Prentice-Hall on 5 October 1967 saying, "Brautigan is a figure of color on the San Francisco literary scene." It was now one year since Brautigan had first contacted Mills asking him to be his literary agent.

Brautigan wrote Mills on 7 October 1967 with news about Trout Fishing in America. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Brautigan wrote Mills again on 17 October 1967 with two reviews of Trout Fishing in America. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


One of these reviews was written by Herbert Gold. The other was written by Don Carpenter.

Mills wrote Brautigan the same day, 17 October 1967, to say that Prentice-Hall had rejected The Abortion. "On now to McGraw-Hill, which has got a new approach, and claims that they are looking for interesting, offbeat new fiction." Mills concluded by saying, "I got TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA, and I am half way into it at the moment—I like it very much."

On 24 October 1967 Mills wrote to Brautigan thanking him for the reviews of Trout Fishing in America. "I am sending them on the editor [at McGraw-Hill] who now has THE ABORTION. . . ." That same day Mills sent the reviews to Rosemary Grgich at McGraw-Hill.

McGraw-Hill rejected The Abortion. On 2 November 1967, Mills wrote to Brautigan saying, "We have now been to Harcourt, Brace, Simon & Schuster, Viking, Putnam, Harper & Row, Random House, Morrow, Dial, Doubleday, Macmillian, Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill, and it occurs to me that I ought to ask your reaction to all of this up to now, and ask you if you have any ideas about what might be tried next."

Brautigan replied on 11 November 1967. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Brautigan wrote Mills again on 24 November 1967 with, apparently, the details of the "interesting developments" he had hinted at earlier. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Brautigan wrote Mills on 19 December 1967 with more news about Trout Fishing in America. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills responded on 21 December 1967 saying the story in Ramparts and the reviews of Trout Fishing in America were "nice." He said he enjoyed reading Trout Fishing in America. "It seemed to be to be a modern version of things I read in some of the good little magazines in the thirties, things that influenced me greatly." Mills concluded saying he hoped to see a copy of In Watermelon Sugar when it was published—"nice that it's being done."

Brautigan wrote Mills on 23 January 1968 about nine stories he hoped to publish in Playboy magazine. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills replied on 30 January 1968, saying the stories had arrived, that he liked them, and had "sent them to [A. C.] Spectorsky today. I think it's a good idea trying him—it is almost impossible to tell what Playboy will or will not want, and they just might dig these the most." Mills' letter to Spectorsky, sent the same day, 30 January 1968, concluded "I do think Brautigan has a very nice offbeat talent—does it fit in at Playboy?"

Playboy rejected Brautigan's stories. In his 13 February 1968 letter to Brautigan, Mills enclosed "a melancholy note from Alan Ravage." Mills said he did not know Ravage and "I rather wish that Spectorsky had handed your manuscript to somebody else. However, this seems to be the fact." Mills concluded, "Would you think it a bad idea for me to show this group of stories to Esquire?"

Brautigan replied on 17 February. Brautigan's letter to Mills reads:


Mills replied on 21 February 21 1968, returning Brautigan's stories, wishing him luck with Ramparts and saying that he had sent the manuscript of The Abortion to Lynn Deming at Doubleday. "And I shall certainly call you if I hear from them." A letter to Deming the same day offers The Abortion to Doubleday.

Apparently, Doubleday rejected The Abortion but was interested enough in Trout Fishing in America to offer Brautigan a two-book contract. Brautigan, however, was not satisfied with the offer and sought to limit the option on the second book to stories and/or nonfiction and increase the advance to be paid for Trout Fishing in America to $5,000.00. Mills wrote to Brautigan on 11 April 1968 saying,

Doubleday says that $5,000.00 for TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA is not possible.

The reason for their offer of a two-book contract is that they have great faith in you as a writer, and want to continue with you. When, in addition to aksing for $5,000.00 for TROUT FISHING, you also limit the option to short stories and non-fiction, you are removing a big part of the reason for offering you a contract on TROUT FISHING in the first place.

You tell me that TROUT FISHING was turned down by a noticeable number of publishers in the past. It seems to me that unless you feel confident that you can get $5,000.00 from some other publisher now, it would be ill advised to turn down Doubleday's offer. True, it is possible that somebody would offer you $5,000.00 for TROUT FISHING a few years from now, depending upon what you do in the meantime, but if you publish it with a $2,000.00 advance now, within those few years, if the book is a success, it will have earned more than that $5,000.00. It will also be contributing to your reputation around the country, thus contributing a larger readership for your next book. . . .[A]fter the two books are published by Doubleday, you will be important enough that Doubleday will wish to reconsider their decision on THE ABORTION—as they have now reconsidered their decision on TROUT FISHING. I strongly urge you to accept.

Mills wrote Brautigan again, on 22 April 1968, saying that Lynnn Deming at Doubleday had heard Brautigan was concerned about Doubleday's intended publication date. Mills said Deming said Doubleday could publish in October, rather than December, if the book is forthcoming immediately. Deming also said Doubleday was willing "to pay the $2,000.00 advance on Trout Fishing in America on signing of contract, instead of half on signing, half on publication." Unless a decision is made "right now," said Mills, "it would seem likely that Doubleday's interest will be diminished, because failure to get out their edition in October would probably lead to the possibilityl of another printing out there, would it not? Will you let me know."
Ron Loewinsohn Papers 1953-1976
Department of Special Collections
Green Library
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts. Includes materials from Brautigan.

LEARN more about this collection at the Stanford University library website.
Seymour Lawrence, Seymour Publishing Archive
Department of Special Collections
University of Mississippi's library

Contains correspondence to and from Lawrence's authors, including Brautigan. Lawrence published Brautigan's early novels.

READ a brief description of this collection at the University of Mississippi library website.
William Novak Collection of Richard Brautigan 1957-1970
The Bancroft Library
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Serial and ephemeral publications containing publications by Brautigan.
Letters to Bruce Conner
Artist and filmmaker Bruce Conner was a friend of Brautigan.

Brautigan's letters to Bruce Conner read:




Letter to Jonathan Carroll
Jonathan Carroll apparently wrote to Brautigan earlier requesting a submission for a small magazine or other publication.

Brautigan's letter to Jonathan Carroll reads:

Letter to Stephanie **?**
Brautigan's letter reads:

Letters to Greg Keeler
Written from Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Bolinas, California, 23 April 1983-2 July 1984. Maintained in facsimile and transcription at Keeler's website, "Troutball," that features his "songs, poetry, stories, and cheap coyote tricks." Also features stories and poems by Greg Keeler about Brautigan, as well as quotes and letters by Brautigan.

Brautigan's letters to Greg Keeler read:


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

VIEW a copy of this photograph.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.


VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

Brautigan did return to the United States, but went to his home in Bolinas, California, rather than Montana. He wrote Keeler from there, saying,


Keeler included this letter in his "Fishing the Tenses With Captain Richard" published in Rolling Stock.

VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

Keeler replied to Brautigan, complaining about his summer teaching at Montana State University in Bozeman, and saying he was coming to Nevada City, California, later in June. Because of his schedule, there was, Keeler wrote, no possibilty to visit with Brautigan while in California. Brautigan replied,


Keeler included this letter in his "Fishing the Tenses With Captain Richard" published in Rolling Stock.

VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

In his reply, Keeler said he would visit the San Francisco Bay area in late July and early August. He would see Brautigan then. Keeler said he had heard from friends that the salmon fishing in the Bay Area was ruined by the El Nino weather pattern; Brautigan could not fool him regarding the fishing there. Brautigan wrote back,


Keeler included this letter in his "Fishing the Tenses With Captain Richard" published in Rolling Stock.

VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

Keeler admitted his defeat by Brautigan's ridicule and said they would solve the salmon question when he visited his brother. Brautigan continued his ridicule of Keeler in his next letter.


Keeler included this letter in his "Fishing the Tenses With Captain Richard" published in Rolling Stock.

VIEW a facsimile of this letter at Keeler's "Troutball" website.

Keeler offers quotes and letters by Brautigan, as well as stories and poems of his own at his "Troutball" website.

READ more about Brautigan at Keeler's "Troutball" website.
Letters to Susan Morgan
Althea Susan Morgan and Brautigan met in Isla Vista/Goleta, California, where Brautigan was participating in a poetry reading at the Unicorn Book Shop.

During a visit to Isla Vista, Brautigan wrote "The Sitting Here, Standing Here Poem" for Morgan. The poem was never collected or published. Morgan copied the poem and described some of the circumstances around its creation.

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Morgan wrote Brautigan asking for a signed copy of the poem. In his reply, Brautigan declined.

Brautigan's letter to Susan Morgan reads:

Morgan wrote to Brautigan about the possibility of visiting him in San Francisco. Brautigan responded enthusiastically.

Brautigan's letter to Susan Morgan reads:

Ten days later, Brautigan wrote again, still enthusiastic about the possibility of Morgan visiting him in San Francisco. He mentioned the publication of his poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" as a broadside. The "volume of my collected early poems" could be a reference to All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, published in 1967, or a reference to The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster published in 1968. The poem "Albion Breakfast" ws included in both. As a whimsical gesture, perhaps in response to the flower Morgan apparently included in her last letter, Brautigan glued a small yellow rock to the top center of this letter.

Brautigan's letter to Susan Morgan reads:

The visit confirmed, Brautigan responded:

Erik Weber photographed Brautigan and Morgan in Brautigan's Geary Street apartment in March of 1967.

While Morgan was visiting Brautigan in San Francisco, Brautigan wrote and dedicated the poem "Albion Breakfast" for Morgan, who described the genesis for the poem.

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The visit over, Brautigan responded to a "thank you" letter from Morgan.

Brautigan's letter to Susan Morgan reads:


According to Morgan, her visits with Brautigan ended in June 1967 (see below), although their exchange of letters continued. Brautigan wrote Morgan in February 1968.

Brautigan's letter to Susan Morgan reads:

Brautigan included a lock (approximately 3" in length) of his blond hair with this letter.