City Lights Strikes Again: New Buk Collection for 2010 - Absence of the Hero

Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
Roni: in America, if someone says something that's so shocking it borders on being rude (in poilte society), it takes the listener's breath away, they get confused, then outraged that the rules of society have been violated, then embarassed (mostly at themselves for being so stodgy) and then they laugh nervously. All this would happen in a split second if you said "Jesus Christ with Barbeque Sauce" at some stuffy tea party. People who wouldn't be shocked by this sort of statement (your typical Bukowski reader) would then laugh at the shocked ones who are laughing nervously at their own uneasiness. That's why it's funny.
 
Erik

Erik

If u don't know the poetry u don't know Bukowski
Founding member
Rekrab said:
Well, it's sacreligious, plus hints at cannibalism. But mostly, it's shock value that makes it funny.
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OK, Rekrab, agreed, but tell me this: is shock value the most important aspect of Buk's writing, in the long run?

Sure, Buk has plenty of shocking, outragious hilarious lines. He doesn't shy away from them. But standing alone they're just cheap thrills compared to his ability to see and sense all the different aspects of life.

Shock value was a good thing to use when he was trying break into the field, to make it as a writer in the 60s. It makes good PR and gets you noticed, but Absence of the Hero is closer to the essence of his writing. I'm with Roni on that.

Then again, I understand your instincts, there's something bookish about the title as well. "Absence" is not vernacular, it has a dry ring to it. Reminds me of the episode in Hollywood when Chinaski replaces the word "masturbate" with "jack off" in the script of Barfly. Jack off has more "bbq sauce".

On the other hand, again, Absence of the Hero is actually a variant of "Don't try". Isn't it?

Works for me.
 
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
But "Don't Try" would be a catchier title. "Absence of A Hero" (not to further beat the dead horse) sounds like a dissertation title. I think the humor in "Christ with BBQ Sauce" comes from the expectation that conventional minded people will be shocked, and laughing along with Bukowski at the fools so easily shocked. In and of itself, it's not really funny, just bizarre.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

But at the end he was just so gaunt and all. The BBQ sauce would be dripping aimlessly and worthlessly from those emaciated limbs and oh, the humanity! That's just so bloody disarming. Give me some frogs legs - now there's a savior in pickle sauce. Cajun spices on the side, please.
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Maybe we could compromise and call the book, "Absence of BBQ Sauce"...:D
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
You guys wouldn't hate the title so much if you knew what they wanted to call it originally; Jesus Fucks Dead Children Then Swallows Their Corpses Whole, Like Some Sort Of Jet Powered Post-Apocalyptic Jew-Wolf.

Even I was disturbed by that when I saw it on the City Lights site, and I'm an atheist.

So simmer down, things could be a lot worse.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

mjp said:
You guys wouldn't hate the title so much if you knew what they wanted to call it originally; Jesus Fucks Dead Children Then Swallows Their Corpses Whole, Like Some Sort Of Jet Powered Post-Apocalyptic Jew-Wolf.
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Seems like we might have a friendly competition here on who can be most sacreligious. Ready to go?

Edited to add: it's late, I'm drunk and I would vote to postpone this until the entire platoon has been better-rested. In other words, I'll post after 6 PM tomorra.
 
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
Erik said:
OK, Rekrab, agreed, but tell me this: is shock value the most important aspect of Buk's writing, in the long run? [...]
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I never answered your question re: shock value. No, that's not the most important thing. It's not even a major factor. It's an extra. Spices things up. Like BBQ sauce. But it is, I think, the source of some of the humour he uses. Buk may have been more shocking in the 60s than he seems now, much as Henry Miller was more shocking in the 30s thru 50s than he is now. WIth cable and the Internet, nothing is very shocking today.
 
roni

roni

Purple Stickpin said:
Millions of Catholics do every Sunday.
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that's a different thing - somehow.

Rekrab said:
[...] the humor in "Christ with BBQ Sauce" comes from the expectation that conventional minded people will be shocked [...]
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but ... isn't that a cheap laugh?
And do we really want Only Bukowski-already-knowers as readers?

Erik said:
... What about calling it NO MORE HEROES
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that's what I saw in the title at first sight:
The 'heroes' are GONE, be they "absent" or dead or "no more".
It shows something about Hanks attitude AND about modern literature (it wasn't before the 20th century, that 'anti-heroes' were the established 'heroes' in literature. okay, there was 'Woyzeck' or 'Werther', but these were Exceptions).
 
Erik

Erik

If u don't know the poetry u don't know Bukowski
Founding member
Rekrab said:
Buk may have been more shocking in the 60s than he seems now, much as Henry Miller was more shocking in the 30s thru 50s than he is now. WIth cable and the Internet, nothing is very shocking today.
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Maybe a "serious" title for a Bukowski-book is as shocking as it gets nowadays... :D

Personally I'm quite tired of Buk's widespread "wild man" image, mainly because its misleading. You know, ppl like Henry Rollins never get past it.
I think Buk is extremely lucky to have City Lights doing such dedicated and insightful work on his posthumous stuff. I mean. just how lucky can you get? After John Martin quits, City Lights carries on the tradition!

Lucky Bastard.
And lucky us...;)
 
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
Erik said:
Maybe a "serious" title for a Bukowski-book is as shocking as it gets nowadays... :D
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A serious sounding title may be appropriate if City Lights is aiming to steer the public away from that cardboard "Bukowski the Madman" image. "Absense of A Hero" is plenty serious.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

I don't think that City Lights is trying to steer anything anywhere. They just want to sell books, and one cannot blame them for that. A mainstream title fits with the times, even if we have not so mainstream attitudes about Buk or anything else. I don't blame them, even if I would wish for a more controversial title.
 
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
Yeah, you're probably right. That is reading a lot into a title choice. It fits these times, sad to say.
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
Well, Portions From A Wine-Stained Notebook doesn't exactly roll off the tongue either. Maybe I'm crazy but the title is meaningless to me. They can call it MORE BUKOWSKI FOR $18.95 or YOU'RE AN IDIOT IF YOU BUY THIS for all I care.
 
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
mjp said:
Well, Portions From A Wine-Stained Notebook doesn't exactly roll off the tongue either. [...]
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Now that you mention it, I had my doubts about that title, too, but I had the good sense to keep quiet about it. The title really doesn't matter. How about: "What Matters Most Is How They Keep Finding More Good Poems To Sell Us."
 
P

Paul Sempschi

not the best cover, but still an exciting release.

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Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Me too! It's a great photo and the blue color looks nice. I see it says Vol. 2. Let's hope there'll be a Vol. 3 too.
 
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G

GodSaveUsFromUs

Garrett,
How much unpublished material is left in City Lights possession? Could we see several more of these new collections before you are through?

Thanks,
J.
 
nervas

nervas

more crickets than friends
Yeh, that's a pretty cool cover, but one I can't imagine coming out while Buk was alive. In any event the "Absinthe" reference was a great point. That sounds cool, but I don't ever remember Bukowski mentioning absinthe, though if he had that would have been a pretty good title. Hmmm, maybe since Marilyn Manson sells his own absinthe, he'll pick up on the title for a song or something.
 
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