Jim Dodge (born 1945) is an American
novelist and
poet whose works combine themes of
folklore and
fantasy, set in a timeless present. He has published three novels—Fup, Not Fade Away, and Stone Junction—and a collection of poetry and prose, Rain on the River.
Fup (1983),
City Miner BooksISBN0-933944-04-7. A duck, named Fup, lives on a farm with an old man who believes he is immortal due to the homemade
whiskey he drinks. The recipe for the whiskey, also known as "Ol' Death Whisper", was bestowed upon him by a dying
Indian.
Not Fade Away (1987). "Floorboard" George Gastin is part of an insurance scam to wreck a pure white, mint condition '59 Cadillac originally intended as a gift for
The Big Bopper as a token of an admirer's love. Floorboard George has other ideas and when he disappears with the car, gangsters and cops are soon in hot pursuit. On the road he meets crazy characters,
hitch-hikers and demented preachers as he covers many miles—and states of mind—in his quest to find the true spirit of
rock 'n' roll.
Stone Junction (1990). Daniel Pearse's journey from childhood to adulthood amid magic, mayhem and mysticism all guided by a mysterious organization named AMO, the Alliance of Magicians and Outlaws. A series of apprenticeships teaches Daniel meditation, safecracking, poker, and the art of becoming invisible. The first edition has a blurb by
Thomas Pynchon on the dust jacket. The 1998 edition includes a more lengthy Pynchon introduction.
Rain on the River (2002),
Grove Press. Selected poems and prose from 1970 to 2001.[5]
"Routes" in
Peter Berg, ed. Reinhabiting a Separate Country: A Bioregional Anthology of Northern California. 1978.
Planet Drum Foundation, San Francisco.