Who Was John Fante?

Anyone who has enjoyed our recent excursions into the work of Charles Bukowski is recommended to track down 'Ask the Dust' by John Fante. Bukowski considered him to be the most important writer that he'd ever read, and the edition of 'Ask the Dust' which I have, has an introduction by Chuck himself. Fante is one of the true bad boys of 20th century American literature. Born in 1909 and raised in an Italian American ghetto in, of all places, Boulder, Colorado., Fante fits into no particular niche. Many refer to him as the quintessential L.A. novelist - others have called him the big brother of the Beats. In many ways he was the writer who most embodied the hopes, dreams and insecurities of the children of immigrants. Fante was never truly in fashion, though for a time in the late '30s and '40s he seemed nearly fashionable. There have been various proposals over the years to film some of Fante's work - the latest rumour concerning Francis Ford Coppolla being about to make a film of 'Ask The Dust'. I suppose it's posssible that he could yet become a big star - grab this book now and be ahead of the pack.