From the weblog, January 29, 2012:

On January 30, 2012 Richard Brautigan would be 77 years old, had he not died 28 years ago at the same age I am today. He was born in 1935, the same year as my father, and I’ve often marveled that two men of the exact same era could have such different experiences and lives. But the world is a giant ball so we’re on the same side after all.

Somehow many years ago I acquired a cassette dupe of his "Listening to Richard Brautigan" record, and was surprised by the sound of Brautigan’s voice, an almost cartoonish sound that was much different from the one I had imagined narrating all those books of his I’d read. It was deep yet innocent, awkward almost, like a child inside a large bear costume unicycling mischievously and wrecklessly through a formal ballroom dinner party. Once I was over the shock, I enjoyed it and even found a strange comfort in it.

And so I began to write this song. But years passed and I’d revisit it now and again, changing something here, adding something there, waiting for the right context for it before I committed to finishing it. Then earlier this month, I heard about a Brautigan Book Club that had formed with the aim of reading a novel and gathering for a performance and other “Brautigan-inspired activities” each month. As they say in their manifesto, “Brautigan – through his writing and because of his mythic quality – makes a fantastic starting point for creative endeavors.”

Well, yes indeed. Maybe I’ll record a Brautigan-inspired song each month for the rest of the year, based on each month’s selection by the book club. Maybe I will….[UPDATE: I didn’t.]