Steinbeck was a biggie. His simple, elegiac prose talked to me early on, as well as William Saroyan, James Thurber, Mark Twain, John Updike, Truman Capote, Jimmy Breslin, Norman Mailer, although today I read mainly non-fiction, which I guess makes sense, because my novelistic urges have given way to honest, well-researched portrayals of real life truths. In short, my writing has morphed from journalistic poetry to poetic journalism. more...
