January 22

[Ponder]

January 22, Forum Calendar

Just a simple coincidence or a Bukowski sentiment?

January 22, 1962
Jane Cooney Baker dies.

Every Bukowski biography written thus far names Barbara Frye as his first wife. However, in 1952 (three years before his marriage to Barbara Frye) Bukowski stated that he was married to Jane Cooney Baker - the "Jane" of many of his most heartfelt works. Jane's name and birth date are blacked out in the copies of the FBI files released to the public, but we have used sophisticated spectral analysis (holding pages up to a bright light) to read this and other blocked out passages. We have provided a close up scan of the page in question (page 7 of FBI report LA 140-6698 dated 3/28/68) that clearly shows Jane's name (misspelled as JANE S. COONYE).

http://bukowski.net/fbi/


January 22, 1966
John Martin meets Bukowski face to face for the first time.

1966, John Martin visits Bukowski's apartment for the first time, buys poem manuscripts that become the first Black Sparrow publications (individual broadsides). .


John Martin's first letter to Bukowski
https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?62-John-Martin-s-first-letter-to-Bukowski

 

[David]

Marriage to Jane

Is there any evidence, if he married Jane--which the FBI file incontrovertibly indicates that he did-- that he ever divorced her? If not, is that the reason he never claimed he had married her in the first place--i.e. to avoid later problems with the authorities? Can you get married a second time--i.e. to Barbara Frye--without proving that you are not still married to someone else?

 

[Johannes]

Good point, David. I never thought of that.

It seems very unlikely that he went through marriage and divorce-proceedings with Jane so that he could marry Barbara Frye afterwards and never wrote a word about it, anywhere. I mean, the marriage with Jane, ok, maybe it happened. But to marry again at that time it definitly loaded tons of shit on your back if you double-married without divorce. Then too, he reunited with Jane after the divorce and, once more, never a word about it? Nowhere?

Very unlikely. But still possible, tho.

 

[zenguru]

Or triple-married, as the case may be.

 

[Gerard K H Love]

In the 50s people didn't admit to living together so maybe he just said they were married to avoid the stigma of living in sin.

 

[David]

Jane's Birthdate

Another odd thing about the FBI file: in the blacked-out section, there is the date 1918 which presumably is Jane's birthday, which would make her just two years older than Bukowski, not ten years as the biographies state.

 

[Bukfan]

In the 50s people didn't admit to living together so maybe he just said they were married to avoid the stigma of living in sin.

Good point, Gerard! I think that might be the reason...

 

[zenguru]

In the 50s people didn't admit to living together so maybe he just said they were married to avoid the stigma of living in sin.

Well it's a good thing my parents married in the 60's.