Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan
Encyclopedia
Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan (born 25 March 1960) is an American writer and daughter of late author Richard Brautigan
.
She was born in San Francisco, California
to Richard Brautigan and Virginia Dionne Alder. Her parents separated when she was two and she spent most of her young life with her father. Her first book You Can't Catch Death: A Daughter's Memoir was published in 2000. She writes about her father and the impact his suicide had on her own life. She was just nine years old when he first told her that he wanted to kill himself, but she was 24 before he finally did so. The book is written in a similar way to her father's work, with short chapters and an impressionistic style. She describes her early life in Montana
, spending time with her father and his beat generation
friends, such as the writers Thomas McGuane
and Michael McClure
. She travelled with him to Hawaii
and Japan
.
She married film director Paul Swensen on September 5, 1981, and has one daughter named Elizabeth. She currently lives with her husband in Sonoma County, California
, where she teaches English and Creative Writing at Santa Rosa Junior College
.
Richard Brautigan
Richard Gary Brautigan was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. He is best known for his 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.- Early life :...
.
She was born in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Richard Brautigan and Virginia Dionne Alder. Her parents separated when she was two and she spent most of her young life with her father. Her first book You Can't Catch Death: A Daughter's Memoir was published in 2000. She writes about her father and the impact his suicide had on her own life. She was just nine years old when he first told her that he wanted to kill himself, but she was 24 before he finally did so. The book is written in a similar way to her father's work, with short chapters and an impressionistic style. She describes her early life in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, spending time with her father and his beat generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
friends, such as the writers Thomas McGuane
Thomas McGuane
Thomas Francis McGuane III is an American author. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors.-Early life:...
and Michael McClure
Michael McClure
Michael McClure is an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955 rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums...
. She travelled with him to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
She married film director Paul Swensen on September 5, 1981, and has one daughter named Elizabeth. She currently lives with her husband in Sonoma County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she teaches English and Creative Writing at Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa Junior College is a community college located in the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 1918, it is the tenth oldest community college in the state. Santa Rosa Junior College was modeled as a "junior" version of nearby University of California at Berkeley...
.