On Writing
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Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Free copies for UK forum members? What a great idea! I hope you can convince them to do it.
Black with black letters on the spine? Thanks! The black Canongate one has golden letters on the spine. Not much of a difference, but it's somewhat interesting Canongate chose a different color for the letters on the spine. Of course, black on black seems a bit weird, although I have´nt seen the Ecco edition.
Black with black letters on the spine? Thanks! The black Canongate one has golden letters on the spine. Not much of a difference, but it's somewhat interesting Canongate chose a different color for the letters on the spine. Of course, black on black seems a bit weird, although I have´nt seen the Ecco edition.
The flash makes the lettering look gold. The Word "On" is the best reproduction of what it really looks like. Classy. I've never been a fan of dust jackets. They don't even cover the part of a book that might get dusty. :eek:
And yes mjp, I found this at a bookstore. :rolleyes:
And yes mjp, I found this at a bookstore. :rolleyes:
cirerita
Founding member
A couple of new pieces on OW:
http://lithub.com/charles-bukowskis-rules-for-writing/
http://lithub.com/lets-not-get-too-holy-editing-bukowski/
LitHub left out the final paragraphs of my piece. I'll try to post them here soon.
http://lithub.com/charles-bukowskis-rules-for-writing/
http://lithub.com/lets-not-get-too-holy-editing-bukowski/
LitHub left out the final paragraphs of my piece. I'll try to post them here soon.
these are pretty nice man. you just lost me at the end of the 'lets not get too holy' piece, where it seemes like you did in fact try to get too holy, putting a shiny bow of platitudes around everything. your journey spoke for itself, the anecdotes and so on. the triple gainer conclusion was a little much.
putting the period after 'tribulations' would have been fine, that was already kindof a sappy 'writerly' wind up. but then you dug the hole deeper with 'reaching the finish line was no libger necessary' - huh? the book is out, that line is cheesy and doesnt even make sense.
then you go even deeper still with 'what mattered most was the moistness of the panties' or whatever and i almost forgot how good the piece was for how cliche it ended.
love your work though in general, really do. reading Bukowski and simultaneously navigating all those hallowed halls cant be easy, so .. much respect for your work done as a researcher, and sorry in advance if my critique of the writing part is out of line, i will take it down.
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cirerita
Founding member
That's ok, no need to take it down --plus, I think you couldn't take it down anyway after 30 minutes or so.
Yes, the last paragraph has a few deliberate clichés and platitudes. Glad you liked the piece anyway.
Here's the actual last paragraph, which was left out by LitHub, along with another 3-4 paragraphs --maybe they thought those paragraphs were way too cheesy, too:
Yes, the last paragraph has a few deliberate clichés and platitudes. Glad you liked the piece anyway.
Here's the actual last paragraph, which was left out by LitHub, along with another 3-4 paragraphs --maybe they thought those paragraphs were way too cheesy, too:
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mjp
Founding member
I'm glad you posted the last paragraph here, they should have left it in.
I will always and forever prefer someone putting their feelings on the line to someone just spouting some cold, analytical bullshit. Good for you. It's courageous to show your passion, because people don't always react to it the way you'd expect or the way you'd like.
Obviously.
I will always and forever prefer someone putting their feelings on the line to someone just spouting some cold, analytical bullshit. Good for you. It's courageous to show your passion, because people don't always react to it the way you'd expect or the way you'd like.
Obviously.
Skygazer
And in the end...
...and that's Grade A Steve McQueen Cool, well done cirerita.
:rolleyes:
Still miles from the "pantheon" and all the cliches intact. Reviews like this make my head hurt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/b...llection-of-rants-and-musings-in-letters.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/b...llection-of-rants-and-musings-in-letters.html
She threw him a couple of meaty bones at least, in between trips to the hair salon and sips of a frappe with her pinky raised high and nose raised higher. the fact is she almost certainly learned a few things from the collection, but was too academic to admit it. anyway, congrats to Ciretria for making the nyt, and keeping the bukster in the conversation.
thanks for the gut check i needed it
this weekend, when Abel (aka cirerita) was in Germany, I had the chance to compare the two versions directly and the US got it more beautiful BY FAR.
Beside the unneccessarily Golden writing on the spine of the UK-edition, that's already been mentioned:
The US-version's slightly larger. (just slightly but remarkable)
The US-version has a photograph of Bukowski on the back while the UK-version has plain text.
The US-version has the name of the editor on the front-cover, while the UK-edition has - placed on the same part of the cover - the super-original quotation: "A laureate of American low life (Time)", which I've never heared anywhere before.
of course, all of these are merely cosmetics and surface.
But if you happen to be an aestetic (sp?) person - go for the US-edition!
having said that:
people living in Germany may consider buying their copy at my shop anyway. Be it only to screw amazon in the ass, but mainly to support my attempts to buy me a castle in the Black-forest.
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mjp
Founding member
I'll back that Kickstarter.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Now I almost feel like buying the US version and give my UK version away.
Me neither. Buk used to be called, "The poet laureate of skid row". Now he's just "A laureate of American low life", which is a lesser title (not that I cared too much about "The poet laureate of skid row" title). What's next, "Another laureate of American low life", maybe? :hmh:
Finished this the other day. Enjoyed it, despite the repetition.
Some good Bukowski fire, some good Bukowski pissing on other people's fire.
I was struck by how many times Buk flip flopped his opinion of Ezra Pound. I know Buk often changed his opinion on people, but he seemed to change it a lot concerning Ol' Ez. Made me drag out Cantos again.
And he seemed particularly proud of his correspondence with Sheri Martinelli. Maybe because she tasted the quill of a couple of perceived masters. The contradiction again of Buk not wanting fame, but being tickled when it comes, being grouped (in a certain fashion ) in the same circle with Frost and Pound. "Don't want to be here, but I'm here now, so I'm going to roll with it."
Some good Bukowski fire, some good Bukowski pissing on other people's fire.
I was struck by how many times Buk flip flopped his opinion of Ezra Pound. I know Buk often changed his opinion on people, but he seemed to change it a lot concerning Ol' Ez. Made me drag out Cantos again.
And he seemed particularly proud of his correspondence with Sheri Martinelli. Maybe because she tasted the quill of a couple of perceived masters. The contradiction again of Buk not wanting fame, but being tickled when it comes, being grouped (in a certain fashion ) in the same circle with Frost and Pound. "Don't want to be here, but I'm here now, so I'm going to roll with it."
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
That's some review in the Huffington Post. It´ll be difficult to to make a more positive one.
It would be great if one day all of Buk's correspondence was published. Maybe not all of his correspondence is interesting to read, but being able to read it all chronologically would probably give one more insight into his character and the person he was.
It would be great if one day all of Buk's correspondence was published. Maybe not all of his correspondence is interesting to read, but being able to read it all chronologically would probably give one more insight into his character and the person he was.
cirerita
Founding member
His take on Creeley changed a lot, too.
jeebus .. did you use a crane for that heavy lifting? not sure if this is appropriate to the thread, but id been keen to hear what you got from the cantos, once dragged out.
This is my review of On Writing, somewhat briefer than I would have liked. But you'll understand I had to cover a lot of bases in one short review...
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsit...ortion-of-a-dissident-poet/17405#.Ve16ZPldU5k
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsit...ortion-of-a-dissident-poet/17405#.Ve16ZPldU5k