Amber O'Neil - Blowing My Hero
- Thread starter zoom man
- Start date
This info is 10 years old now, but if you want to take a chance:
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Blowing My Hero: by Amber O'Neil
This is one of the most interesting Bukowski-related works I've seen in print. Amber O'Neil (a pseudonym) relates the tale of her short romance with the down-and-out author and gives us a rare view of him; one from the perspective of a fan who crossed his path in the vintage '70s.
At the time the story takes place, Amber was living in San Francisco with her daughter, her daughter's father, and an intense desire to meet Charles Bukowski. She wrote to him in care of City Lights bookstore and after getting a response, began a volley of letters that ended with her on a plane to L.A. She tells the story of the three day romance with a lighthearted charm and a style not unlike Bukowski's own. After all the bottles were emptied and the luck at the track turned sour, Amber was on her way back home with a unique memory of this soulful author. Many of Bukowski's letters to Amber are reproduced in the appendix.
$8.52 Each to
Amber O'Neil Productions,
190 El Cerrito Plaza #233,
El Cerrito,
CA 94530
(40 Pages/D/CWB)
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( Taken from this old web document - http://www.etext.org/Zines/F5/Books.html )
I think you'd be lucky to get one - read elsewhere that there where only 500 printed.
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Blowing My Hero: by Amber O'Neil
This is one of the most interesting Bukowski-related works I've seen in print. Amber O'Neil (a pseudonym) relates the tale of her short romance with the down-and-out author and gives us a rare view of him; one from the perspective of a fan who crossed his path in the vintage '70s.
At the time the story takes place, Amber was living in San Francisco with her daughter, her daughter's father, and an intense desire to meet Charles Bukowski. She wrote to him in care of City Lights bookstore and after getting a response, began a volley of letters that ended with her on a plane to L.A. She tells the story of the three day romance with a lighthearted charm and a style not unlike Bukowski's own. After all the bottles were emptied and the luck at the track turned sour, Amber was on her way back home with a unique memory of this soulful author. Many of Bukowski's letters to Amber are reproduced in the appendix.
$8.52 Each to
Amber O'Neil Productions,
190 El Cerrito Plaza #233,
El Cerrito,
CA 94530
(40 Pages/D/CWB)
--------
( Taken from this old web document - http://www.etext.org/Zines/F5/Books.html )
I think you'd be lucky to get one - read elsewhere that there where only 500 printed.
zoom man
Founding member
Yeah, That's what I want to know...Is that the regular price? He said he would sell it to me, Priority Mail included, But let him know quick, Because the price is going up.
Christ, do you think Buk's wide release of Born Into This Has anything to do with this chick's 15-seconds-of-fame :> A 500 run, seems like there should be more 'out there'
Helluva a mark up... $8.25 to todays price. Still, would love to see it (Tho this chick is f'ing ugly!)
Christ, do you think Buk's wide release of Born Into This Has anything to do with this chick's 15-seconds-of-fame :> A 500 run, seems like there should be more 'out there'
Helluva a mark up... $8.25 to todays price. Still, would love to see it (Tho this chick is f'ing ugly!)
mjp
Founding member
The few times I've seen it sold it has been in the $100 range, and that was a few years ago, so I don't think Born Into This has anything to do with it. This book has always been scarce. Which is why I think most of the 500 either weren't produced or weren't sold. Note that the one on ABE is #71.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
all very interesting. i just don't understand why a chapbook could be so expensive.
I read an article sometime back, I've forgotten where, the writer said Amber O'Neil claimed Martin had objected to her including the letters she had from Bukowski. Much as he did when Linda King wanted to publish her letters. That Ms. King has stated in an Arizona newspaper. Under U.S. copyright law the writer of a letter has copyright protection automatically. Since the letters were supposedly a large part of Amber O'Neil's story it doesn't take much deduction to reach the conclusion that Martin's objection doomed her project. It is more than public knowledge that he guards all Bukowski material closely.
mjp
Founding member
Interesting. Ann Menebroker's Surviving Bukowski contains quite a few letters as well, but I never heard of any resistance to it. It's scarce, but I think it was a small run.
Whether publications are truly suppressed or merely "objected to" is a crucial difference, and I suppose only the publisher could say whether a title was prevented from going to market or not (or prevented from going to market in its full run, as most of these titles leaked out a few copies before Black Sparrow became aware of them). That is the thing we're mainly concerned with here, because it obviously has an effect on the cost of the book.
If O'Neil's book is mostly letters, that makes it much less appealing to me anyway. Menebroker's book fell kind of flat for me for that reason (and because it was kind of dry/formal). A memoir is much more interesting, but the memoirs we have are mainly from men who knew Bukowski, and I think that's why there's such interest in something like Blowing My Hero.
I appreciate that, but, "forgotten where," "writer said," and "O'Neil claimed," is not really very concrete stuff. No offense.old man said:
Whether publications are truly suppressed or merely "objected to" is a crucial difference, and I suppose only the publisher could say whether a title was prevented from going to market or not (or prevented from going to market in its full run, as most of these titles leaked out a few copies before Black Sparrow became aware of them). That is the thing we're mainly concerned with here, because it obviously has an effect on the cost of the book.
If O'Neil's book is mostly letters, that makes it much less appealing to me anyway. Menebroker's book fell kind of flat for me for that reason (and because it was kind of dry/formal). A memoir is much more interesting, but the memoirs we have are mainly from men who knew Bukowski, and I think that's why there's such interest in something like Blowing My Hero.
I didn't know who she was before I saw her on "Born Into This." I liked her. And I'm glad she wrote her book, because I think she wasn't exactly happy about the way she was portrayed in Women, or she was somehow embarrassed for herself, her friends or family, and decided to set the record straight, at least from her point of view, and make art out of her experiences with Bukowski. That's what art is for anyway"”to redeem ourselves after the fact or to try to set the record straight from our vantage point. She was very young at the time she met him, and perhaps somewhat troubled as well. This experience also shows Bukowski's need at the time"”his craving for experience with the opposite sex as perhaps some sort of vindication of his genius and the emotional depravation of his youth. Anyway, accurate rendition by her or not, I thought there was something sweet and innocent about her after all these years, and I wish her well. I'd also like to see the letters that Bukowski wrote to such women licensed by the copywrite owners. Without these women, exactly what would Bukowski have written about in Women? And some of them are not exactly drowning in money. Let them profit financially from their experiences to ease the pain of their present existence. Everyone needed each other, at least at the time "
G
grayxray
I thought Amber O'Neil had died -- is she still alive, I may have been thinking of somebody else.
Hello from Amber O'Neil
It is strange to read comments about "Blowing My Hero," and, of course somewhat painful, especially Zoom's remark about me being "F"ing ugly. Somehow, that is not a comment that I would ever make about anyone.
Anyway, many, many years after my correspondence and blip in Mr. Bukowski's life, I was home with two more babies, a husband who worked nights, and decided to write about what was an unexpected experience for a California transplant from Flint, Michigan. Not having a computer or even a typewriter, I sat on the floor at night and hand wrote this small memoir. I then took it to the Berkeley Public Library and used their typewriter to type it up. Around the same time, I called a rare book dealer in Marin County who used to date my girlfriend, when we were very young. I wanted his suggestions on what I should do with the letters from Mr. B. As a thank you for his time, I sent him a formal thank you and also a copy of my manuscript. His response was great! He said, "I couldn't put it down! I loved it! I'll call you the literary genius of American hairdressers! Publish it, publish it, publish it!
I was so excited. My husband had an old computer, installed a desktop software and struggled to finally come up with a master copy in book form. You're right....I took it down to Kinko's and asked them to make 500 copies.
They called me part way through the job and said they had run out of the grayish lavendar card stock. I said, "well, just choose some other cardstock and finish the job." So there are actually two colors in print.
This whole project was started before Mr. B's death. I sent a copy of the typed manuscript to him, through John Martin. I got a letter from John saying that Bukowski liked it very much, hoped my children and I were doing o.k., and they included a whole box of books for me.
However, after his death, when I sent a copy of the actual Kinko'ed book to John Martin, he wrote saying that under no circumstances was I to publish anymore of these because of the letters from Bukowski in the appendix; that these were the intellectual property of Bukowski's estate. And, he also requested to buy 6 copies of it himself!
After that, I was really afraid of this whole world of copyrights, etc.
The remaining copies are in boxes at my home. Every once in awhile I give one to a pal or colleague who expresses an interest. I only numbered a certain number at the beginning, as the book dealer in Marin said I should number them. But, I truthfully lost track and lost interest as I was busy with my family.
So, there you have it! It was just a fun thing for me to do, and it helped me emotionally as I didn't understand why Bukowski was so harsh in Women. My character was Tanya, not Claire. In any case, he was very kind and gentle to me that weekend. I think he could see that I was in over my head.
John Dullaghan interviewed me by phone for many years before finally talking me into letting them film an interview for his documentary. He is a good man, sincere, and comfortable to be with. That was nice of him to put that deleted scene in the DVD release, but it certainly sets me up for personal criticism that is painful. My looks, my voice, etc.
Thanks for letting me get this load off of my chest, ladies and gentlemen!
Amber O'Neil
It is strange to read comments about "Blowing My Hero," and, of course somewhat painful, especially Zoom's remark about me being "F"ing ugly. Somehow, that is not a comment that I would ever make about anyone.
Anyway, many, many years after my correspondence and blip in Mr. Bukowski's life, I was home with two more babies, a husband who worked nights, and decided to write about what was an unexpected experience for a California transplant from Flint, Michigan. Not having a computer or even a typewriter, I sat on the floor at night and hand wrote this small memoir. I then took it to the Berkeley Public Library and used their typewriter to type it up. Around the same time, I called a rare book dealer in Marin County who used to date my girlfriend, when we were very young. I wanted his suggestions on what I should do with the letters from Mr. B. As a thank you for his time, I sent him a formal thank you and also a copy of my manuscript. His response was great! He said, "I couldn't put it down! I loved it! I'll call you the literary genius of American hairdressers! Publish it, publish it, publish it!
I was so excited. My husband had an old computer, installed a desktop software and struggled to finally come up with a master copy in book form. You're right....I took it down to Kinko's and asked them to make 500 copies.
They called me part way through the job and said they had run out of the grayish lavendar card stock. I said, "well, just choose some other cardstock and finish the job." So there are actually two colors in print.
This whole project was started before Mr. B's death. I sent a copy of the typed manuscript to him, through John Martin. I got a letter from John saying that Bukowski liked it very much, hoped my children and I were doing o.k., and they included a whole box of books for me.
However, after his death, when I sent a copy of the actual Kinko'ed book to John Martin, he wrote saying that under no circumstances was I to publish anymore of these because of the letters from Bukowski in the appendix; that these were the intellectual property of Bukowski's estate. And, he also requested to buy 6 copies of it himself!
After that, I was really afraid of this whole world of copyrights, etc.
The remaining copies are in boxes at my home. Every once in awhile I give one to a pal or colleague who expresses an interest. I only numbered a certain number at the beginning, as the book dealer in Marin said I should number them. But, I truthfully lost track and lost interest as I was busy with my family.
So, there you have it! It was just a fun thing for me to do, and it helped me emotionally as I didn't understand why Bukowski was so harsh in Women. My character was Tanya, not Claire. In any case, he was very kind and gentle to me that weekend. I think he could see that I was in over my head.
John Dullaghan interviewed me by phone for many years before finally talking me into letting them film an interview for his documentary. He is a good man, sincere, and comfortable to be with. That was nice of him to put that deleted scene in the DVD release, but it certainly sets me up for personal criticism that is painful. My looks, my voice, etc.
Thanks for letting me get this load off of my chest, ladies and gentlemen!
Amber O'Neil
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Hi Amber,
Thanks for posting!
All best,
Bill
Thanks for posting!
All best,
Bill
Well, amber, little bit sorry to ask you that, but as it says in "woman" about Tanya...did you really do so much speed(amphetamine) at that time?
..cause i knew my share of speedfreaks, once upon a time, and yes,they had bad teeth and were some of the most psychotic guys i ever experienced.
Wanna get a taste of insanity? Dont sleep for 2 or 3 nights.
no hard feelings, im just curious..
greetings,durruti.
..cause i knew my share of speedfreaks, once upon a time, and yes,they had bad teeth and were some of the most psychotic guys i ever experienced.
Wanna get a taste of insanity? Dont sleep for 2 or 3 nights.
no hard feelings, im just curious..
greetings,durruti.
No, for sure, I never did any speed. Tanya didn't do speed either! She is the one whom he waited for at the airport and saw all these "real women" get off the plane and then a short child tugged on his elbow, "Mr. Bukowski?" Are you sure you have the right character? I'm in Mexico right now visiting my daughter, Anna, so don't have a copy of Women, but I think you might have the wrong character. But, I did so much enjoy drinking in those days. I got up earlier than he did, not because of speed, but because I was nervous about the visit, plus, he was quite old and tired even by then. He slept in to get some strength for the day and to overcome his hangovers, which were considerable. Mine too.
Additionally, thank you to the other posters who have replied with such nice posts...a big comfort. Warm regards to you all.
Amber
Additionally, thank you to the other posters who have replied with such nice posts...a big comfort. Warm regards to you all.
Amber
thanks for dropping by and posting, Amber.
welcome.
welcome.
Hmm, my bad , dont have the book here either, but i thought tanya was the name of the character that came over after thanksgiving and "raped" the organic turkey,the one who says to charles:(im paraphrasing)"No, you cant kiss me, because of my bad breath, i have a bad tooth."
Well this made my day...
... found all this wildly interesting. Especially that a "real" character is posting... and I wouldn't worry too much about what people say, Amber. Ugly, not ugly, who gives a sh*t? Have to watch that movie and read that book now... although I have to think that his books would have been much better if he had used some of the icons on this site ;)
... found all this wildly interesting. Especially that a "real" character is posting... and I wouldn't worry too much about what people say, Amber. Ugly, not ugly, who gives a sh*t? Have to watch that movie and read that book now... although I have to think that his books would have been much better if he had used some of the icons on this site ;)