Whatever you do - do not recommend Bukowski work to your boss

Bill Sikes

Bill Sikes

After being on downright spiral emotionally and spiritually my boss of many years turned toward the right wing extremism (he needed the blame assigned for his failures in life) and also strangely toward the eastern mysticism (Buddhism etc). I told him about Bukowski and the things he was writing about, were more in line of our daily troubles. I gave him short stories Hot water music and the movie Factotum.

I found them following Monday thrown in my locker. He never made comment, except that his wife hated the movie - it reminded her of her abusive alcoholic ex-husband.

Also I was assigned to work overtime on Saturday.


P.s. The Rush Limbaugh show is cranked even louder from his office computer.
 
nervas

nervas

more crickets than friends
Ha! I once had a girlfriend I lived with.. When it was over I was so disgusted with her, I just up'ed and left on Halloween night. I left a couple of Buk books there by accident. For some reason, prior to shipping all my stuff to my parents house she called and left me a message. Long story, short...she left a voicemail for me going on and on how she picked up and read through some of the books I left...She referred to all Buk books going on and on how he must have been a child molester, drunk, cheater etc and summed it up by telling me what a piece of shit I was for worshiping such a man! No wonder why our relationship failed she said! HAHAHAH!!!!

So yes, you couldn't pay me to introduce Buk to my boss, I wouldn't be punished with overtime, I'd be punished with unemployment probably!
 
chronic

chronic

old and in the way
In the '80s I worked for a printer and one of our regular publications was an insurance trade mag based out of Pasadena. I'd go out there a couple of times a month and wait for the editor to review the bluelines and artwork and would hang out in the reception area and read for an hour or two at a time. I'd gotten quite friendly with the receptionist who was about 22 and just gorgeous, sort of like a young, blonde Annette Bening (yes, way too good looking for the likes of me) but really sweet and not at all full of herself.

Anyway, she was going on vacation and asked me to recommend a book. I gave her a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. When she got back from her vacation, she basically told me that she hated the book and after that would barely speak to me anymore.

And the moral of the story is... umm... I really have no idea. Just make one up.
 
LickTheStar

LickTheStar

Sad Flower in the Sand
Or at least a kick in the teeth.

Smack on the ass? Yeah that one's less violent, but more sexist. Er, sexy.
 
chronic

chronic

old and in the way
I think she just drew the conclusion that I was some sort of deviant dope-fiend.

And I'm guessing, way after the fact, that she was a church-goin' good girl.
 
Ambreen

Ambreen

Sordide Sentimental
One can be a "good girl" and worship Bukowski.
Like me. :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rekrab

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
When I first moved to Oregon I was applying for a job in the marketing department of a lock manufacturing company, made it through three interviews, was supposed to start on Monday and had just one more interview to go -- supposedly just a formality -- to meet the big boss. He asked about my college degree, in English, somehow he got me to reveal that I write, then he asked what I write, poetry and fiction, about what? Oh, just life and stuff. He asked my favorite authors. I mentioned Bukowski, among others. I never got the call to come in on Monday, never got an answer to my questions about was I hired or not. Telling the boss I read Bukowski (or maybe that I write poetry) killed my chances for a job I desperately needed. It was a shitty job anyway...
 
LickTheStar

LickTheStar

Sad Flower in the Sand
You can't trust those namby-pamby queers, especially not with your shitty, minimum wage jobs. And those that write about life? Why, they're the most dangerous of all.
 
Ambreen

Ambreen

Sordide Sentimental
On spring 2008, I had an interview for a summer internship in the publishing house which publishes the french version of the Who's Who. Before the interview, I googled the name of the man I was going to meet. He looked like a forty-something austere guy and turned out to have an impressive career. That made me anxious. At the beginning of the interview, I was a bit nervous, he was testing me by asking me questions that were a bit unsettling, especially about the law studies I gave up. Some of my answers must have touched him : he softened up little by little, began considering me with benevolence and asked me more pleasant questions. When we came to my literary tastes, I told him that the author I was then reading at most was Bukowski. He was surprised and amused at the same time, laughed and began making some jokes. The atmosphere was then definitely relaxed, all my nervousness was gone and I myself laughed and joked with him. We happened to talk about many subjects I would have never imagined been addressed in an interview (imagine me talking about gymnastics with a middle-aged serious looking man while applying for an internship !). At the end, he informed me he had some other candidates to meet but he wouldn't meet them since I was the chosen one. I was elated (totally seduced by the guy) but I then had other interviews and finally preferred a house publishing more captivating stuff than Who's Who in France. :D

The most surrealist interview I've ever had. Partly thanks to Bukowski.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bill Sikes

Bill Sikes

"The most surrealist interview I've ever had. Partly thanks to Bukowski."


Maybe, but my view would be considered pretty 'sexist' and believe that to a middle aged man, good looking young intern would be a pretty exciting event - regardless who or what she's reading.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
P

pigmantoo

Bukowski is becoming mainstream - that is what happens, the machine draws you in and makes you one of them.
 
bospress.net

bospress.net

www.bospress.net
pigmantoo said:
Bukowski is becoming mainstream
Click to expand...

Try mentioning his name to 100 people on the street and wait for the blank stares from most of them. Mention Stephen King, John Grisham, etc, etc and you will get "mainstream". I think that Bukowski is a great writer, but thinking that he is "Mainstream" is silly.

Bill
 
P

pigmantoo

bospress.net said:
Try mentioning his name to 100 people on the street and wait for the blank stares from most of them. Mention Stephen King, John Grisham, etc, etc and you will get "mainstream". I think that Bukowski is a great writer, but thinking that he is "Mainstream" is silly.
Click to expand...
That is me bospress - silly. I always defer to those of greater intelligence.
 
number6horse

number6horse

okyoutwopixiesoutyougo
Bill Sikes - I think I might end up in a similar situation, if I recommended Buk to my boss.

Once, during a conversation about politics, he remarked "I don't care what anybody says - I love George Bush". There you go....
 
Bruno Dante

Bruno Dante

pigmantoo said:
Bukowski is becoming mainstream - that is what happens, the machine draws you in and makes you one of them.
Click to expand...
Who's being drawn in? A guy who died years ago? :confused:
Or do you mean he's becoming more popular? Even then it's all relative since, as others have pointed out, you could ask 100 people in the street and you'd be lucky if one or two even knew who Bukowski was, let alone had read any of his work. You seem to be implying he sold out in some way which is now a reason why his work has crossed over to the mainstream to an extent. Or have I misunderstood what you meant?
 
P

pigmantoo

I believe his works are being drawn in to the mainstream. Yes he is dead, his works are in the Huntington Library I believe in San Marino which I am told is a very exclusive area. I understand Linda chose this place because she use to hang out there while he went to the races. He is being referred too more and more, movies, articles etc., from Stern to Moore. He recently had a reading at Vormans in Pasadena (little old ladies?). I also understand that at least one of his homes is now an historical landmark in Los Angeles (I could be wrong on this). Isn't that being drawn in when the toliet you took a shit on is revered? I took up a challenge about asking 100 people. I only asked 19, 4 knew of him and 1 had read some of his works. Not a random sample, just some people I knew. To me that isn't half bad and its just a start. I am going to ask some of my groups on the internet if they have ever heard of him. I think more people may have heard of Bukowski than you may think. Of course hearing and reading are very different things. Anyway I am new to this board and don't really know what I am doing and admit it so please forgive me if I have made a silly statement. At least silly statements give people something to post about.

And no I don't think he sold out -- but neither did Van Gogh
 
marina del rey

marina del rey

pigmantoo said:
I believe his works are being drawn in to the mainstream. Yes he is dead, his works are in the Huntington Library I believe in San Marino which I am told is a very exclusive area.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't really call San Marino "very exclusive," but mainstream or not, it makes sense that his works would be donated to an institution in a nicer part of town. Typically you don't have large libraries that house literary collections in the ghetto.
 
P

pigmantoo

The ghetto is where real life happens so maybe they should have large libraries but they don't. I stand corrected. Thanks for the info.
 
james

james

library in the ghetto. ha. shit, shave and sell drugs between the stacks...
well, if real life happens in the ghetto, i guess i've yet to live. except that time i bought some drugs at the library...
 
P

pigmantoo

A excellent library in the ghetto -- why not. Downtown LA has a great library. People who cannot afford day care drop their kids off there -- and it becomes a zoo. Buying drugs at a library? Sounds like your dealer wants to play it safe. Where do you keep your stasH? In the medical section.

Go down to your ghetto and live -- you still have time. Enjoy a block party. But make sure you are well armed and don't trust anybody. Bring some Thunderbird and make some friends.
 
B

BENPLEASANTS

Mentioning Bukowski to your boss? Some years ago I had my boss over for drinks and he saw my collection of tattered Bukowski books. I didn't get fired but my salary declined to the tune of 6,000 bucks a year. That was 5 years ago so I'm 30 large in the hole because of that German-American reprobate.
 
number6horse

number6horse

okyoutwopixiesoutyougo
Well, I wonder who among us is really qualified to evaluate the ghetto and ghetto life...

I've seen things here in Chicago, but only as an observer. And yes, libraries are usually not a vital part of poor neighborhoods. Neither are well-maintained parks or regular street-sweeping. Public dollars only go so far...

But for the kid who rides the train and transfers to a bus downtown, this city is unlimited in free books available - much like any other big city.
 
Bruno Dante

Bruno Dante

pigmantoo said:
I believe his works are being drawn in to the mainstream. Yes he is dead, his works are in the Huntington Library I believe in San Marino which I am told is a very exclusive area. I understand Linda chose this place because she use to hang out there while he went to the races. He is being referred too more and more, movies, articles etc., from Stern to Moore. He recently had a reading at Vormans in Pasadena (little old ladies?). I also understand that at least one of his homes is now an historical landmark in Los Angeles (I could be wrong on this). Isn't that being drawn in when the toliet you took a shit on is revered? I took up a challenge about asking 100 people. I only asked 19, 4 knew of him and 1 had read some of his works. Not a random sample, just some people I knew. To me that isn't half bad and its just a start. I am going to ask some of my groups on the internet if they have ever heard of him. I think more people may have heard of Bukowski than you may think. Of course hearing and reading are very different things. Anyway I am new to this board and don't really know what I am doing and admit it so please forgive me if I have made a silly statement. At least silly statements give people something to post about.

And no I don't think he sold out -- but neither did Van Gogh
Click to expand...

I didn't think it was a stupid statement, I just wanted you to elaborate really, especially on the 'drawn in' comment as I wasn't quite sure what you meant. And we're all here (well, most of us) to discuss Buk (and other things) amongst like-minded folk. You make some good points to be fair and there is a difference between selling-out and simply becoming more mainstream. I think people can get too hung up on what is / isn't 'mainstream' anyway. Not saying you do, just in general.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top