the bad and the beautiful (1952)

[hoochmonkey9]

the bad and the beautiful was on TCM last night.
not a bad film, not great, but not bad.
but my point, there was a line of dialogue that made me think of Buk and (some) of his fans. I include myself in that sweeping generalization.
this is Kirk Douglas talking to the daughter of a recently dead Hollywood legend...

Jonathan Shields: Because he was a drunk, you're a drunk. Because he loved women, you're a tramp. But you forget one thing: he did it with style.

 

[roni]

"... But you forget one thing: he did it with style."

style is the answer to Everything.
a fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing.
style is the difference.
a way of doing - a way of being done.

 

[number6horse]

Is that from a Buk poem, Roni ?

 

[roni]

yes sir.
it's called 'style'. You find it in 'Mockingbird', p. 156 in a very short version and in a much better one on the CD from his 1972 SF-reading 'Poems and insults' as well as in the 'Bukowski-Tapes'.

 

[Dora]

Talking about this poem, I know it was mentionned several times in the forum, in both versions.

Does anyone know if the "long cd version" was read from a manuscript (which means it was hugely edited for the book) or if Buk improvised? I assume the first option is more realistic but I'd like to be sure.