The Continual Condition

zoom man

zoom man

Founding member
Just ordered it for pick-up tomorrow via Borders,
and I was just there 2 days ago with the lone copy in my hand, thinking how cheap it felt somehow...
but if just several of the poems are worthy, then I have to have it
(Hell, even if none were, I'd still want it, just with the cheap Ecco production I'm still kicking myself that I didn't find (or even look for) for an ARC).
I have a recently re-subscribed Barnes & Noble membership
(really re-thinking that)
but it was still cheaper via Borders.
Use Coupon Code BSA1671X to receive 40% off,
I think good until the 17th(?)

Found the book for $13 on ABE but need it to read for red-eye to Dayton OH
(don't ask)
in 5 days.

OK, toast
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Yes, the paper quality is lousy. The cover, on the other hand, looks better without the usual images, I think.
I wonder why the book is so thin. Is it because we've reached the end of the line of the posthumous poetry books from Ecco, or is it because Ecco found out they can get the same money for a thin book as for a thick book? ;)
 
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Black Swan

Black Swan

Abord the Yorikke!
The cover design is quite nice.
Bukfan, I think you hit the nail on the head. Half the size x 2.
Nice acknowledgment for Bill. ;)
Mine smells like a grade one exercise notebook and oatmeal.
 
A

antelope1202

I was extremely disappointed with almost the whole lot of it.

That being said, "bayonets In candlelight" is pretty much worth the full hardcover price.
 
David

David

I noticed that the poem "he died April 9, 1553" about Rabelais which appeared in The Night Torn Mad with Footsteps is also in The Continual Condition but now titled "died 9 april 1553". Are the poems in Continual Condition supposed to be uncollected poems, or are there others which have appeared in earlier books?
 
capt.co

capt.co

they are supposed to be uncollected poems but there are alot of previously collected poems in this one. almost 1/3 of them. which is pretty bad when you see how thin it is. of course we've been spoiled in the past where bukowski's books were much bigger than your usual poetry-collection but still.
 
cirerita

cirerita

Founding member
I think David was asking about poems previously collected in books, not in mags. Many of the poems had previously appeared in mags, but the one about Rabelais seems to be the only one that had been already collected by BSP... but it's not the first time that BSP/Ecco (re)printed the same poem in different collections.
 
capt.co

capt.co

I was also refering to books, not mags. I found six poems from bone palace ballet alone,
and even more from later collections. And, no, this is not the first time, but it has
never been this obvious before. I would love to see more poetry-collections but this one
seems like a rip-off, or at least not very well-researched.
 
zoom man

zoom man

Founding member
justin grimbol said:
the title is awful.
Click to expand...

I agree....
was in the tub reading the book last night, and came across this line,
on page 29, from 'The Last Race',
thinking,
wow, now, that would be a great title for this book

and at the same time thinking,
I should start a new thread->
"What would you re-title each book?"

(Like we need another thread,
hell, we may already have that thread :>)

Anyway, instead of The Continual Condition,
how about A Fart of Thunder
?
Ha.

I'm enjoying the book, forcing myself to read it slow slow slow
(and in order, which I don't think I've ever done;
but of course I've already cheated and read the last couple,
and wow, yes, 'Bayonets' is worth the ticket price alone).

And btw, I like the original cover that mjp gave us somewhere, if anyone has an ARC that they'd be willing to part with please pm me
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
capt.co said:
I was also refering to books, not mags. I found six poems from bone palace ballet alone,
and even more from later collections. And, no, this is not the first time, but it has
never been this obvious before. I would love to see more poetry-collections but this one
seems like a rip-off, or at least not very well-researched.
Click to expand...

Jebus, six poems from Bone Palace Ballet alone? That's a lot for such a thin book.

they are supposed to be uncollected poems but there are alot of previously collected poems in this one. almost 1/3 of them. which is pretty bad when you see how thin it is.
Click to expand...

Do you have a list of the poems who have already been published in the various collections? Almost 1/3 is way too many.
 
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Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

I'm a helpless fan of the little man and flask, dog and bird doodles, so other than the obnoxious green and orange lettering, I think the cover is great. But cheap, yes. Did you really expect anything more?
 
cirerita

cirerita

Founding member
capt.co said:
I was also refering to books, not mags. I found six poems from bone palace ballet alone,
and even more from later collections. And, no, this is not the first time, but it has
never been this obvious before. I would love to see more poetry-collections but this one
seems like a rip-off, or at least not very well-researched.
Click to expand...

Unless they were previously collected under different titles -which is not unusual- I don't recall seeing 6 poems from BPB and more from later collections, but you might be right. Care to list those dupes here?
 
cirerita

cirerita

Founding member
Ok, upon close inspection, I found two poems from Bone Palace Ballet ("full circle" and "the strange morning"; "rejected" is similar to "my worst rejection slip", but I'd say they are different poems), one from Sifting... ("listening to the radio at 1:35 a.m."), one from The Flash of Lightning... ("the last winter") and one from War All the Time ("a hot sweaty day in August"). Those probabaly slipped by Martin.

There are at least six poems reprinted from WR issues.

I couldn't find any of the following poems in any magazine or book. Some of them are available on CDs from poetry readings or in the Manuscript section of this site, but to my knowledge they're have not been published in a book/mag (if you have seen in a book, please say so here):

thanks for the luck [??]
my art form [??]
rejected [??]
the continual condition [??]
to kiss her long dark hair [??]
the recess bells of school (??)
feeling good in the new neighborhood [??]
this kind of fire [??]
unemployed [??]
the last race [??]
the theory [??]
dog times [??]
about a worried reader of my works: [??]
a good place [??]
you've seen it on the barstool next to you- [??]
never [different from all the other poems titled "never"] [??]
news item [??]
this flag not fondly waiving [??] [Ecco discard]
a fine madness [??] [Ecco discard]
consummation [??] [Ecco discard]
heavy dogs in cement shoes [??] [Ecco discard]
tragedy? [??]
perfect silence [??]
dear editor: [different from the NYQ one]
lack of a common interest [??] [Ecco discard]
I'm upstairs now [??] [Ecco discard]
what have I seen? [??]
a correspondent wrote bitterly: [??]
moving toward age 73: [??]
mountain of horror [??]
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Okay, so that's 5 poems from earlier collections. That's not too bad, and much fewer than I feared.
Thanks, cirerita!
 
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capt.co

capt.co

'mountain of horror' is more or less the same poem as 'mountain' from bone palace ballet. the same goes for 'tragedy?' which was then called 'reunion'.
'moving toward age 73' is 'poem for the young and tough' from flash of lightning.
even the title of the book is 'the condition' from war all the time.
also some poems from play the piano drunk, come on in! what matter most and sloching...
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Good research, capt.co!

even the title of the book is 'the condition' from war all the time.
Click to expand...

That's right. Not much difference except for a short stanza more in "War..". I like the "War.." version better.

also some poems from play the piano drunk, come on in! what matter most and sloching...
Click to expand...

Do you remember which ones?
 
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cirerita

cirerita

Founding member
Thanks capt.co.
"thanks for the luck" was published in What Matters... as "thanks for that".
"my art form" was "my style" in Bone Palace.
"to kiss her long dark hair" was "to weep" in Play the Piano...
"the last race" was Part III of "Horsemeat" in War all the Time
I just updated the list with your info (right now there are 13 poems from previous collections). If you know any other dupes from Play the Piano, What Matters, etc, please post them here.

rejected [??]
the recess bells of school (??)
feeling good in the new neighborhood [??]
this kind of fire [??]
unemployed [??]
the theory [??]
dog times [??]
about a worried reader of my works: [??]
a good place [??]
you've seen it on the barstool next to you- [??]
never [different from all the other poems titled "never"] [??]
news item [??]
this flag not fondly waiving [??] [previous Ecco discard]
a fine madness [??] [previous Ecco discard]
consummation [??] [previous Ecco discard]
heavy dogs in cement shoes [??] [previous Ecco discard]
perfect silence [??]
dear editor: [different from the NYQ one]
lack of a common interest [??] [previous Ecco discard]
I'm upstairs now [??] [previous Ecco discard]
what have I seen? [??]
a correspondent wrote bitterly: [??]
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Thanks, cirerita! - That's 13 poems out of 63, or a bit over 20%, which have been collected before. Maybe more will show up. That's far too many, I think.
 
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cirerita

cirerita

Founding member
Bukfan said:
Thanks, cirerita! - That's 13 poems out of 63, or a bit over 20%, which have been collected before. Maybe more will show up. That's far too many, I think.
Click to expand...

I'd say there are at least 2-3 more dupes from Come On In or Slouching, but I don't have any easy, fast way to double check this.
 
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Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
At least 2-3 more dupes? That would mean about 25% of the poems are reprints, or nearly reprints, from earlier collections. Too bad it's too time consuming to double check each poem but at least most of the dupes have been identified by now. The rest might turn up along the way when people read or re-read the previous collections.

Good research, cirerita & capt. co!
 
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zenguru

zenguru

I just bought the book a couple days ago. I'm waiting for a quiet Saturday night at the coffee shop to read it. Maybe this Halloween.
 
ROC

ROC

It is what it is
I received the book about a week ago but will wait for just the right moment to start reading it.

That moment will include;

a) solitude
b) no deadlines of any kind
c) alcohol

I also just picked up a copy of the ARC from ebay.
Happy about that.
 
james

james

did you use the BIN at $35? if so, you bastard! i was gonna buy it but decided to make the seller an offer first, which was declined, and then i realized that it was sold. probably why i was declined!
 
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