I took a couple of his writing workshops and produced three of my first good stories after following the one piece of advice Brian never tired of issuing to his students (and which I, in turn, have never tired of issuing to mine): “Write every day.” Later, I was invited to his home where I met his lovely and gracious wife, Jean, to whom he had dedicated every novel since the mid-’60s when they met at a party, fell in love and eventually left their respective marriages to find a new life together in Malibu ­— and the world. Their home was something unique in Southern California literary history — a place where local and international writers and filmmakers came to enjoy good talk and company. To my mind, Los Angeles literary culture (perhaps like many literary cultures) has often felt a bit shut away in itself; but in that lovely house, modestly presided over by Brian and Jean, there was never any sense of claustrophobia. The whole wide world was welcome.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 14, 2018 14:03 UTC