Trout Fishing In America by Richard Brautigan

"...America...often only a place in the mind."

I interviewed Virginia Brautigan Aste, Richard Brautigan's first wife, here in Hawaii, about her life and marriage to Richard Brautigan, beat writer and 1960s-'70s icon of American Literature. This interview was published in Arthur (online) and Beat Scene (U.K. print). I became curious about her life also before and after her marriage to him and interviewed her some more. This turned into a book manuscript called, Please Plant This Book Coast To Coast (still unpublished but being considered by Beatdom Books--they are currently experiencing financial problems...) I remain hopeful that her memoir will be published and keep trying to submit it to contests and publishers. I think that she could be considered an icon although nobody really knows about her. She helped launch his career by typing up his poems and going on the camping trip with him and their young daughter to Idaho. She drove, it was her car, it was she who had the day job. She was his support and also his muse. She is 80 years old now. She never saw any money from the publication of Trout Fishing In America, having waived her rights to any monies when they divorced after years apart.

Susan