Dan Fante


Daniel Smart Fante was an American author and playwright. He was born in Los Angeles.
Fante was the son of novelist John Fante whose writing came back into vogue after Charles Bukowski declared him "my God", and wrote the introduction to the reprint of Fante's seminal novel about life in Los Angeles, Ask the Dust.
Chump Change, Mooch, 86'd and Spitting Off Tall Buildings comprise a tetralogy about Fante's hard living alter-ego Bruno Dante. Chump Change found publication in France originally, before being published in the US by Sun Dog Press. The trilogy was then published in America by Harper Perennial and by United Kingdom publisher Canongate. Short Dog is a collection of short stories about Fante's life as a cab driver in LA.
As well as novels and short stories, Fante is the author of two plays – "The Closer / The Boiler Room" described by the Los Angeles Times as "ferociously profane", and "Don Giovanni", about which said: "For those who want to know what is REALLY going on in post-modern American literature right now, Don Giovanni should be essential reading". Both plays are published in book form by Long Beach publisher Burning Shore Press. He is also the author of A Gin-Pissing-Raw-Meat-Dual-Carburetor-V8-Son-Of-A-Bitch From Los Angeles, a volume of poetry on Wrecking Ball Press.
He died on November 23, 2015 in Los Angeles at the age of 71.