John Fante
John Fante was born in Denver on 8 April 1909 and died in Los Angeles on 8 May 1983. Fante achieved success with the series of books dedicated to the character of Arturo Bandini, his alter ego, the most famous of which is 'Ask the Dust'. Bandini, a scrappy Italian-American wannabe writer who engages in odd jobs, is a megalomaniac, a shameless and intolerant character who constantly attacks convention with biting irony.