Are there modern authors that imprint themselves into their work? (Kafka, Buskowski, Plath...)

I've only gotten interested in the classical side of literature recently and I keep getting more and more fascinated by being able to almost "meet" the authors through the pages. I don't know how to explain it clearly, but maybe some of you know what I mean?

Maybe it's because the published a lot of short works, essays and thought pieces, or maybe because those authors were focused on philosophy in general, but I can't help but think about all those books I've read before getting interested in literature as a subject (and I've been an avid reader all my life) and never, never before have I felt the need to know more about an author, or felt like I want to understand them more.

I am 99% sure it's my choice of reading material that is the reason. That's why I'd like some recommendations from you, preferably from 1980s and later. Do you have any author from this time period that makes you feel this way?