John Fante facts for kids

John Fante (born April 8, 1909 – died May 8, 1983) was an American writer. He wrote novels, short stories, and screenplays for movies. He is most famous for his novel Ask the Dust (1939). This book is about a young writer named Arturo Bandini living in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. Many people think it's one of the best novels about Los Angeles.

Ask the Dust is part of a series of four books called "The Bandini Quartet." These books were published between 1938 and 1985. Ask the Dust was also made into a movie in 2006. John Fante wrote many other books and stories during his life and after he passed away. He also wrote scripts for movies like Full of Life (1956) and Walk on the Wild Side (1962).

Early Life and Family

John Fante was born in Denver, Colorado, on April 8, 1909. His father, Nicola Fante, was from Italy and worked as a bricklayer. His mother, Mary Capolungo, was a Catholic from Chicago. John's family sometimes faced hard times.

He went to several Catholic schools, including Regis High School. He then briefly attended the University of Colorado. In 1929, when he was 20, he left college. At age 24, he traveled to Los Angeles to focus on becoming a writer.

John Fante met Joyce Smart on January 30, 1937. They got married later that year on July 31 in Reno, Nevada.

Writing Career

John Fante tried many times to get his stories published in a famous magazine called The American Mercury. Finally, the editor, H. L. Mencken, accepted one of his short stories, "Altar Boy." With Mencken's help, Fante published his first novel, Wait Until Spring, Bandini, in 1938.

The next year, his most famous novel, Ask the Dust, came out. This book was partly based on his own life. Much of the story takes place in downtown Los Angeles, around Main Street and Pershing Square. This was where the main character, a struggling poet, lived.

The character Arturo Bandini was like a second self for Fante. Bandini appeared in four novels, known as "The Bandini Quartet":

• Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1938)
• The Road to Los Angeles (written first, but published later in 1985)
• Ask the Dust (1939)
• Dreams from Bunker Hill (1982), which Fante told to his wife, Joyce, from his hospital bed.

His collection of short stories, Dago Red, was first published in 1940. It was later re-released in 1985 with more stories, called The Wine of Youth.

Starting in the 1950s, Fante mostly worked as a screenwriter. He wrote many movie scripts to earn money. He worked in film studios in the 1950s and 1960s.

Some of his movie scripts include:

• The comedy-drama Full of Life (1957), based on his own novel. It was nominated for an award.
• Walk on the Wild Side (1962), which starred Jane Fonda.
• Other films like Jeanne Eagels and The Reluctant Saint.

In the late 1970s, another famous writer named Charles Bukowski discovered Fante's books in a library. Bukowski helped bring Fante's out-of-print works back into print. This made Fante popular again.

Later Life and Passing

John Fante was diagnosed with diabetes in 1955. This illness caused him to lose his eyesight. Later, he had to have his toes, feet, and then his legs removed in 1977. He passed away on May 8, 1983.

John and Joyce Fante had four children. They raised their family in Malibu, California. Their son, Dan Fante, also became a writer and playwright.

Legacy and Recognition

A view of John Fante Square in downtown Los Angeles

John Fante is known as one of the first writers to show the struggles of writers in Los Angeles. He is often called "the quintessential L.A. novelist." Some people also see him as an early influence on the Beat writers. The novel Ask the Dust has been called the greatest novel ever written about Los Angeles. One writer even said it should be "mandatory reading" in Los Angeles schools. More than 60 years after it was published, Ask the Dust appeared on the New York Times' Best Sellers List.

Fante's writing style and stories influenced Charles Bukowski greatly. Bukowski once said that "Fante was my god." Bukowski even dedicated poems to Fante. Early in his career, Bukowski would shout, "I am Arturo Bandini!" referring to Fante's main character. In one of his novels, Bukowski's character says Fante is his favorite author.

John Fante wrote about his own experiences, the people he knew, and the places he lived. These places included Wilmington, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Echo Park, and Malibu.

Some common themes in Fante's books are poverty, Catholicism, family life, being Italian-American, sports, and dealing with unfairness. His writing is clear, with lively characters and a direct style. He was honest about emotions, often mixing humor with self-criticism. Most of his novels and stories are set in Colorado or California. Some of his books feature characters based on his own father, who was a bricklayer.

In 1987, John Fante was given the PEN USA President's Award after his death.

On October 13, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council decided to name the intersection of Fifth Street and Grand Avenue "John Fante Square." This spot is near the Los Angeles Central Library, where young Fante used to visit and where Charles Bukowski found Ask The Dust. On April 8, 2010, which would have been Fante's 101st birthday, the sign for Fante Square was revealed. The square is close to the old Bunker Hill neighborhood that Fante wrote about.

Film and Theater Adaptations

Some of John Fante's works have been made into movies and plays:

• Francis Ford Coppola bought the rights to The Brotherhood of the Grape, but a film was not made.
• Dominique Deruddere directed the movie Wait Until Spring, Bandini, released in 1989.
• In March 2006, Paramount Pictures released Ask the Dust. It was directed by Robert Towne and starred Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, and Donald Sutherland.
• In December 2006, a documentary film about Fante from 2001, A Sad Flower in the Sand, was shown on TV.
• Yvan Attal directed and starred in the French film My Dog Stupid (Mon chien Stupide), released in 2019. It was based on a story from Fante's book West of Rome.
• On January 18, 2001, a play called 1933 premiered. It was based on Fante's novel 1933 Was a Bad Year.

Writings

Novels

• The Road to Los Angeles (1936, published after his death in 1985) (Bandini Quartet: 2)
• Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1938) (Bandini Quartet: 1)
• Ask the Dust (1939) (Bandini Quartet: 3)
• Full of Life (1952)
• Bravo, Burro! (1970, with Rudolph Borchert)
• The Brotherhood of the Grape (1977)
• Dreams from Bunker Hill (1982) (Bandini Quartet: 4)
• 1933 Was a Bad Year (published after his death, 1985; not finished)

Novellas

• West of Rome (published after his death, 1986)

Short story collections

• Dago Red (1940)
• The Wine of Youth: Selected Stories (1985)
• The Big Hunger: Stories, 1932–1959 (2000)
• The John Fante Reader (2003, edited by Stephen Cooper)

Letters

• Fante/Mencken: John Fante & H. L. Mencken: A Personal Correspondence, 1930–1952 (1989)
• Prologue to Ask the Dust (1990)
• John Fante: Selected Letters, 1932–1981 (1991)

See also

In Spanish: John Fante para niños