(1935 – 1984) Brautigan was greatly influenced by the beat generation writers during the 1950s when he lived in San Francisco. He published poetry throughout his career as well as a collection of short stories, but was best known during the 1960s and 1970s as a novelist who achieved almost cultlike status in the counterculture through his absurdist plots, rebellious characters and wry gentle sense of humor that obliquely poked fun at the Establishment. Brautigan dropped out of circulation during most of the 1970s, then reappeared in 1982 to publish a final book before apparently committing suicide in 1984.