BARRY GIFFORD is the author of more than forty published works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages. Gifford began his career as a poet and musician. His most recent prose works are The Roy Stories, Landscape With Traveler- The Pillow Book of Francis Reeves, and Jack's Book- An Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac. His most recent poetry collection is Imagining Paradise- New and Selected Poems (2012). Gifford lives in the San Francisco area.
Barry Gifford invented his own American vernacular-William Faulkner by way of B-movie film noir, porn paperbacks, and Sun Records rockabilly. -Jonathan Lethem The experience of reading Gifford is like starting a car and realizing, too late, that someone has cut its brake lines. A spectacular wreck is imminent, so you might as well enjoy the adrenaline rush... -Nathaniel Rich, New York Review of Books Gifford cuts right through the heart of what makes a good novel readable and entertaining... The way Barry Gifford does it, it's high art. -Elmore Leonard Gifford is a master. -Los Angeles Times