I am wary about revealing any information concerning my identity or my family on an online forum. Please understand that. When I commented, it was an abrupt, passionate decision. I had to take a couple of days to think before responding.
Thank you for the information about the poem. It was a very moving experience to read it.
I would like to know where the published information about my Grandmother's death was derived from (also the death of one of her "children")... as it is preposterous and offensive. I will not dispute any of the information provided by Bukowski's writings- as it is subject to artistic criticism and the embellishments of fiction (whether he considered it to be auto-biographical is irrelevant). However, the assumptions made about her life after Bukowski are not only irrelevant, but for the most part false.
I regret to reveal much more... I will tell you, though, that my grandfather (the "fisherman"- which is also a bit of a stretch) is dead.
My grandmother had a Corgi, Gerard. Identical to the one in your picture.
As a fellow scholar, I commend the dedication many of you have to your research. In light of this, I hope you can understand my disappointment in the academic community responsible for portraying rumor to be fact.
Furthermore, my family is not a lost literary archive, nor should be be objectified as such. When you go digging for the dead, you'll inevitably find the living. The tragedies of my family have been fabricated and purged all over the internet. It's disconcerting, to say the least... but bittersweet in the sense that some of her art is still out there.
It's strange to see all of you criticize the poem. I hope you know what it feels like one day... to not dissect a poem for its mechanics, or aesthetic techniques, or "genius..." but to have a work of art transcend itself, climb into your soul, and spiritually eviscerate you.
It was perfect, and beautiful, to me, because it was my grandmother's. Regardless of how it was done, I could feel her when I read it. Thank you for the priceless experience. Any further information about the sources would be helpful. Please do so privately. I've been trying to change my settings.