John Fante, One of L.A.'s Greatest Writers

April 8th would have been the 117th birthday of John Fante, one of L.A.'s greatest writers. May 8th, exactly one month later, marks the 43rd anniversary of his death. Despite the fact that my wife and I have been visiting the grave of Bela Lugosi for almost twenty years now, I just recently discovered that Fante is buried only a short distance away from Lugosi in the very same Catholic cemetery. Though all of Fante's books are well worth reading, I particularly recommend ASK THE DUST, WEST OF ROME, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE GRAPE, THE WINE OF YOUTH, DREAMS FROM BUNKER HILL, and WAIT UNTIL SPRING, BANDINI.  

A few years back, I was proud to contribute an essay to Stephen Cooper and Clorinda Donato's excellent anthology, JOHN FANTE'S ASK THE DUST: A JOINING OF VOICES AND VIEWS (published by Fordham University Press). My contribution, "Watch Out or You'll End up in My Novel: The Lost World of Ask the Dust," explores the influence of ASK THE DUST on Noah Van Sciver's FANTE BUKOWSKI graphic novels (as well as many other obscure and unexpected tributaries that branch out from Fante's classic 1939 novel). The collection also includes illuminating pieces by Charles Bukowski, Fante biographer Stephen Cooper, documentarian Jan Louter, filmmaker Robert Towne, John Fante himself, and many other notable writers. 

Here are some photographs my family and I took at Fante's grave (located in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery & Mortuary)... 

 

 

If you're inspired to learn more about Fante after reading his novels, short stories, and correspondence, I highly recommend checking out Stephen Cooper's 2000 comprehensive biography, FULL OF LIFE...