Richard Gary Brautigan (1935-1984) was an American writer popular during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is often considered the author to best characterize the cultural electricity prevalent in San Francisco during the ebbing of the Beat Generation and the emergence of the counterculture movement. Born in Tacoma, Washington, 30 January 1935, Brautigan grew up there, and later in Eugene, Oregon, during the bleakness of The Depression and World War II. His earlier works reflected some of his childhood experiences.  By 1956, Brautigan was living in San Francisco, California, determined to become a writer. Brautigan's body of work includes includes ten novels, ten poetry collections, and one collection of short stories, as well as four volumes of collected work, several nonfiction works, and a record album. Throughout, he is noted for using humor and emotion to propel a unique vision of hope and imagination.  Brautigan died in 1984, in his home in Bolinas, California. Source