One of my favorite authors in my younger years was John Fante:

Boing Boing: Salon on LA proto-beat author John Fante:

“Friday, March 10, 2006

Salon on LA proto-beat author John Fante
Allen Barra wrote a great piece about one of my favorite authors, John Fante. A movie based on his novel, Ask the Dust, opens today in theaters.
Fante — the name rhymes with Dante, which must have afforded no end of amusement to someone whose best-known character constantly proclaimed a desire to be ‘the world’s greatest writer’ — is one of the true bad boys of 20th centu”

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