Richard Brautigan (1935—1984) was an American prose writer and poet, a landmark figure of the 1960–70s counterculture who inspired many writers—from Erland Lou and Christopher Moore to Haruki Murakami and Sara Hall. The book includes: the 1971 short‑story collection “The Lawn of the Vengeance,” paradoxical and vivid, made up of both complete stories and sketch‑like drafts; the historical novel “Abort” about the romantic possibilities of a public library in California, where they accept only unpublished manuscripts; and the novella “So That the Wind Doesn’t Carry It All Away” about a deadly mistake, when instead of a hamburger, bullets for a pistol were bought.