From time to time, I get asked what books inform my style. Of late I respond with the following artists.

It should be noted that citing these does not mean that I write like said people stylistically. It’s more that when I read these authors and artists, I am absorbed instead of studying. After the number of books I’ve read in my life and the number of words I’ve written, to fool my sensibilities into being swept away is a bit of a feat.

If this is not your list, or if you hate anyone on this list, goody. I’m not saying you should like it. I’m saying people ask me, so here’s my response. I’m also not saying that I sanction Bukowski beating women, or that I endeavor to drink as he did, or anything else about any of these authors you, the internet, can come up with. I am also probably forgetting people who have influenced me profoundly. In other words, simply take this list for what it is, a desert island list of the books and music I didn’t sell when I went bankrupt.

My pantheon writers:
Charles Bukowski
Joseph Heller
Charlie Huston
Kurt Vonnegut
Umberto Eco
Lawrence Block
John Fante
Dan Fante
Paul Auster
William Shakespeare
Hunter Thompson
Raymond Carver
Tom Robbins
Gregory MacDonald
Greg Rucka
Jen Van Meter
Richard Rorty
Daniel Dennett
Margaret Atwood
Stephen King
Edmund Rostand
Raymond Chandler
Bernard Cornwell

My pantheon music:
Green Day
David Byrne
Talking Heads
Regina Spektor
Ben Folds
Rancid
Op. Ivy.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers
The Refreshments
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
NOFX
The Who
The Clash
Billy Bragg
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
Radiohead
Gillian Welch
Flogging Molly
Billy Joel
Bad Religion
Dead Hot Workshop
Johnny Cash
Joe Jackson
Flobots
Go! Team
James Newton Howard
Thomas Newman
Phil Ochs
Tom Waits
Wailin’ Jennys
Weird Al