After “Machines of Loving Grace,” a poem by Richard Brautigan, came up in conversation with @Manton recently, I got the itch to dip back into Brautigan’s work. I pulled what I had off the shelves (which is a fair amount - after discovering him long ago, I picked up any of his books that I could find & read them feverishly): Revenge of the Lawn, In Watermelon Sugar, So the Wind Won’t Blow It All Away… but none of it was calling to be read again. Not right now.

There is still plenty of his work I haven’t read, so I set out searching online to see what might come next. To my surprise, I ended up ordering a used copy of his daughter’s memoir. I didn’t know it existed, & finding it now feels like such a gift. I recently lost my own father, & reading through Ianthe’s experience & grief is a crushing relief. I feel Richard & his influence in her writing, & yet her voice is entirely her own. Reading through It feels like discovering a new star within a constellation.

I’ve been thinking about the many ways my own father’s influence has shaped me, & how grateful I am for that. I hope others can still feel him through me.

Before I even cracked the book, it had me tearing up & smiling. The photo of her & her dad echoes the visual aesthetic of so many of his book covers - even though those covers were often criticized for being sexist. Richard Brautigan was a complex & imperfect person.. maybe even stunningly so. He was an alcoholic, a misogynist & just troubled in many ways. Her choice to mirror that imagery landed with me as a gesture of acceptance & unconditional love.

And.. love is something this book has in spades. I highly recommend it. đź“š