Tom Robbins - Personal Life

Personal Life

Robbins was a friend of Terence McKenna, whose influence appears evident in a couple of his books. A main character (Larry Diamond) in Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas advocates a theory similar to those of McKenna, involving the history and cultural influences of psychedelic plants. Robbins also spent time with Timothy Leary and the author has said that one of the protagonists in Jitterbug Perfume (Wiggs Dannyboy) exhibited certain characteristics of Leary's personality; Robbins has admitted to using LSD with Leary.

Robbins spent three weeks at ceremonial sites in Mexico and Central America with mythologist, Joseph Campbell, and studied mythology in Greece and Sicily with the poet Robert Bly. Robbins also embarked on a solo pilgrimage to Timbuktu.

Robbins has defended, in print, Indian mystic, Osho, although he was never a follower.

He currently is on the advisory Board of the Marijuana Policy Project, a laureate of Seattle's Rainier Club, and on the board of directors of 826 Seattle.

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.

In the 1980s and early '90s, Robbins regularly published articles and essays in Esquire magazine, and also contributed to Playboy, GQ, and Life.

He is friends with Gus Van Sant, and performed the voice-over narration in Van Sant's film adaptation of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. He has been friends with directors Robert Altman and Alan Rudolph, as well, and has had small speaking parts in five feature films.

In 1997, Robbins won the Golden Umbrella award for contributions to the arts, presented annually by the Bumbershoot arts festival in Seattle. In 2000, Robbins was named one of the 100 Best Writers of the 20th Century by Writer's Digest magazine. He has given readings from his work on four continents, performing at festivals in Australia and Mexico, and nightclubs in England and Germany. The legendary Italian critic Fernanda Pivano called Robbins "the most dangerous writer in the world."

Robbins has been married to Alexa D'Avalon since 1987 and continues to live in La Conner with Alexa and their dog, Blini Tomato Titanium. He has three sons: Rip, Kirk and Fleetwood, all from previous marriages.

According to Michael Dare, this is how Tom writes: "When he starts a novel, it works like this. First he writes a sentence. Then he rewrites it again and again, examining each word, making sure of its perfection, finely honing each phrase until it reverberates with the subtle texture of the infinite. Sometimes it takes hours. Sometimes an entire day is devoted to one sentence, which gets marked on and expanded upon in every possible direction until he is satisfied. Then, and only then, does he add a period."