Richard Brautigan

Richard Brautigan was born in Tacoma, Washington. He had a difficult childhood, and he did not attend college. He is the author of the poetry collections June 30th, June 30th (1978), Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork (1975), The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster (1968), Rommel Drives on Deep Into Egypt (1970), and The San Francisco Weather Report (1969), among others. He continued writing throughout the 1970s, producing such books as Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 (1977) and Sombrero Fallout (1976), but friends of the author reported he had grown increasingly withdrawn and depressed. In 1976, he moved to Japan, where he lived on and off until his death. He apparently died by suicide in September of 1984, but his body was not discovered until October 25th of that year. (Source)