Don't Try - what would/will your epitaph be?

Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Thanks, c...! I guess it's fairly safe to say that the boxer on his gravestone is due to his interest in boxing...
 
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Digney in Burnaby

Digney in Burnaby

donkeys live a long time
adrian said:
It apparently was a reference to his entry in 'Who's Who'. Most of the other new nominees gave long rambling speeches about how honoured they were to be included on such a prestigious list. Bukowski's response apparently was "don't try" :D
Click to expand...

There is a passage re. "don't try" in the Erections, etc., collection of short stories. From the story "A Lovely, Love Affair":

"I didn't want to play with what was left of the 5th, so I sat in the kitchen, naked, wondering, how can people trust me so? Who was I? People were crazy, people were simple. That gave me an edge. Hell yes, it did. I'd lived for ten years without a trade. People gave me money, food, places to stay. Whether they thought I was an idiot or a genius, that didn't matter. I knew what I was. I was neither. What made people give me gifts didn't concern me. I took the gifts and I took them without a feeling of victory or/and coercion. My only premise was that I couldn't ask for anything. On top of it all, I rather had this phonograph record spinning around on top of my brain and it kept playing the same tune: don't try don't try. It seemed like an all right idea."
 
A

adrian

I like the reference to "this phonograph record spinning around on top of my brain"

It reminds me of a bit in the Shroeder tapes where he's talking about not really enjoying anyone's company. He then goes on about people going round and round in circles, then says "you're all flat pancake mamas with syrup spread all over your heads" :D
 
MilDot

MilDot

O.J. did it!

I Drank What?

I Can See Your Junk!

If you can read this, get off my face!

SHHHH! ....dirt napping.
 
chronic

chronic

old and in the way
Harlan Ellison. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. I was a fan of Ellison's in the mid-to-late '70s. In fact, I still have a stack of signed first editions.
 
Digney in Burnaby

Digney in Burnaby

donkeys live a long time
Documentary on him that's made a few film festivals, etc.: Dreams With Sharp Teeth.

Here is a place to see various bits of the doc.

Harlan is another of those iconoclast writers America has produced over the years.
he's not gone yet,
bp
 
B

Benwa

"Believe you won't die today,
that way you will always be right.
Except for once.
Thats a good track record.

And no one will be able to say
'Told you so.'
Because you are dead."
 
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