John Fante

John Fante was one of the most original and beloved American novelists of the twentieth century. A California native, he wrote fiction that celebrated his Italian-American upbringing as well as the modern experience of the immigrant and working-class experience. Although he is best known for his semiautobiographical novel Ask the Dust, Fante wrote a broad selection of works, ranging from short stories to novels.

John Fante was born in Denver, Colorado on April 8th, 1909 to Nicolo and Mary Fante, Italian immigrants. He was later raised in Boulder, Colorado and California. As a child, Fante had an early start to his writing career, using what time he had after school and while working in his father's market to begin his first novel.

Fante attended the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 1933 with a B.A. degree in English. After graduating, he found work as a clerk in Hollywood and in Banks, spending the next few years writing in his spare time. In 1934, he wrote his first novel, Wait Until Spring, Bandini, which tells the story of a young Italian-American boy struggling to cope with his complicated family life.

In 1938, Fante moved to Los Angeles and began to explore his writing style. He wrote two novels in the period, Full of Life and Dago Red, both of which are considered part of his Los Angeles Trilogy. The following year saw the publication of his next novel, The Road to Los Angeles, which is considered a masterpiece by critics and fans alike.

In 1940, Fante wrote what is arguably his most famous work and his magnum opus, Ask the Dust. The semi-autobiographical novel follows the struggles of an Italian-American writer named Arturo Bandini as he fights against poverty and racism in 1930s Los Angeles. The novel was met with critical acclaim, with many praising Fante’s vivid depiction of Italian-American life and the struggles of being an immigrant in America.

Fante wrote seventeen novels in his lifetime and was a celebrated novelist in the 1940s, although he did not gain significant public recognition until the 1980s. In 1982, Ask the Dust was published again and it quickly became a bestseller, leading to renewed interest in Fante's work. In 2009, his novel Full of Life was adapted into a major motion picture starring John Turturro.

Fante died on May 8th 1983, leaving behind an extensive body of work and an indelible legacy as one of the great American writers of the 20th century. His fiction was a reflection of both his unparalleled creativity and his devotion to the struggles of ordinary people, and for these reasons, Fante continues to be celebrated by readers around the world.