Goodbye, bunker hill

Abstract

Written soon after Ask the Dust appeared in late 1939, this little-known piece of non-fiction by John Fante appeared in the Los Angeles Times. In it, Fante reminisces about his early days in Los Angeles, those days in the early 1930s when he was young and broke and often hungry but filled with dreams of literary greatness. He presents a gallery of character sketches of the people he lived amidst, from the drunk who lived next door in Fante’s beloved Bunker Hill rooming house to the generous Japanese grocer at Grand Central Market. Filled with feeling for a lost time and cherished memories, this piece reveals a side of John Fante that will captivate readers who want to learn more about the author of Ask the Dust.