Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins is an American author. His best-selling novels are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy-drama"), often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from carefully researched bizarre facts. His novel "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" was made into a movie in 1993 by Gus Van Sant and stars Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco and Keanu Reeves.

In 1953, he enlisted in the Air Force after receiving his draft notice, spending a year as a meteorologist in Korea, followed by two years in the Special Weather Intelligence unit of the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska. He was discharged in 1957 and returned to Richmond, Virginia, where his poetry readings at the Rhinoceros Coffee House led to a reputation among the local bohemian scene.

In 1962, Robbins moved to Seattle to seek an M.A. at the Far East Institute of the University of Washington. During the next five years in Seattle (minus a year spent in New York city researching a book on the painter, Jackson Pollock) he worked for the Seattle Times as an art critic In 1967, Robbins moved to South Bend, Washington, where he wrote his first novel. In 1970, Robbins moved to La Conner, Washington, and it was at his home on Second Street that he subsequently authored nine books (although, in the late 1990s, he spent two years living on the Swinomish Indian reservation).

Over the course of his writing career, Robbins has given readings on four continents, in addition to the performances that he has delivered at festivals in Australia and Mexico, and nightclubs in England and Germany.

As of 2013, Robbins is a member of the Marijuana Policy Project's Advisory Board, alongside numerous other notable figures such as Jack Black, Ani DiFranco, Tommy Chong and Jello Biafra. For eight years, Robbins was an enthusiastic participant in Seattle's SPAM carving competition, serving as judge. He has also hosted an annual mayonnaise tasting, often with more than 20 international varieties, at his home in La Conner.