Father Luke
Founding member
I should be alright. Thank you.
When did you discover Bukowski?
- Thread starter mjp
- Start date
mine was 'hot water music' it was weird how i got into it. my friend had a book in his car 'tales of ordinary madness' looking at the picture on the front (bukowski smoking a cigarette) before reading the title "this guy looks fucking crazy!" i said to my friend. read the title, "oh, that explains it" i opened it and read the chapters "a .45 to pay the rent" was the first i believe. i thought to myself i like the sound of this guy. briefly remembered his name a few days later i was talking books with a boss at work and he mentioned charles bukowski and i told him i thought i heard of him and mentioned the 'tales of ordinary madness' he hadn't heard of it but brought 'hot water music' in for me the next day. this was a little over a year ago and i've been hooked since.
factotum and I'm glad it was had always picked up poetry before that though
My first was Post Office. I got Factotum the next day. Then Women. Then I found his poetry and shorts, fuck yeah! Then Pulp. I'm rereading it now.
How I discovered Bukowski
I attended Ateneo de Manila University where eventually I graduated with a AB in English Literature. All my other four siblings and many other members of my extended family, including my father attended this university. It seems there was this professor who had a habit of failing or trying to fail my siblings brought on by historical documents he stole from my father's family. Since he was teaching "Modern Poetry", I elected not to take this class in an act of academic self-preservation. A friend took this class and subsequently later on lent me "Mindscapes", and anthology of Modern Poetry. I read Bukowski's poem "The Loser" and it completely changed my literary career. I've read most of the major titles and continue to search for more.
Below are to relevant excerpts from my Undergraduate Creative Writing Thesis which was the collection of 7 years of my poetry with analysis and history.
From my thesis:
"I was once told by a student in Ateneo trained by an erudite "treasure/relic" of modern poetry to stop writing poetry, because under his line of criticism, my work didn't make any sense. This line of thinking is exactly what I am totally against. I am against all forms of literary snobbery and pompousness. I am against narrow-mindedness and dismissive attitudes. I believe poetry, and writing in general, has few rules. I think in any form of writing it is important to generate a semblance of understanding, not produce vagueness. My work has been criticized for being too revealing and direct. My work tries to be simple and unpretentious. I use words of high vocabulary only when absolutely necessary, not because they look good on paper or because they sound good when said. My imagery also tries to be clear, direct, and intrinsically related. Sadly, I feel most of the people who seem to appreciate my work aren't writers. Perhaps most of the writers who have read my work seem to find it too simplistic."
...The most of my recent influences in imagery and description are the unparalleled character descriptions in the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, and "The Loser" the one poem of Charles Bukowski I've read. The latter, a bit more than the former, has I think clearly had an impact on the works in my recent Urban Collection. Once again I reiterate that these styles, like my work, have and continue to be criticized as "too simple".
I attended Ateneo de Manila University where eventually I graduated with a AB in English Literature. All my other four siblings and many other members of my extended family, including my father attended this university. It seems there was this professor who had a habit of failing or trying to fail my siblings brought on by historical documents he stole from my father's family. Since he was teaching "Modern Poetry", I elected not to take this class in an act of academic self-preservation. A friend took this class and subsequently later on lent me "Mindscapes", and anthology of Modern Poetry. I read Bukowski's poem "The Loser" and it completely changed my literary career. I've read most of the major titles and continue to search for more.
Below are to relevant excerpts from my Undergraduate Creative Writing Thesis which was the collection of 7 years of my poetry with analysis and history.
From my thesis:
"I was once told by a student in Ateneo trained by an erudite "treasure/relic" of modern poetry to stop writing poetry, because under his line of criticism, my work didn't make any sense. This line of thinking is exactly what I am totally against. I am against all forms of literary snobbery and pompousness. I am against narrow-mindedness and dismissive attitudes. I believe poetry, and writing in general, has few rules. I think in any form of writing it is important to generate a semblance of understanding, not produce vagueness. My work has been criticized for being too revealing and direct. My work tries to be simple and unpretentious. I use words of high vocabulary only when absolutely necessary, not because they look good on paper or because they sound good when said. My imagery also tries to be clear, direct, and intrinsically related. Sadly, I feel most of the people who seem to appreciate my work aren't writers. Perhaps most of the writers who have read my work seem to find it too simplistic."
...The most of my recent influences in imagery and description are the unparalleled character descriptions in the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, and "The Loser" the one poem of Charles Bukowski I've read. The latter, a bit more than the former, has I think clearly had an impact on the works in my recent Urban Collection. Once again I reiterate that these styles, like my work, have and continue to be criticized as "too simple".
Last edited by a moderator:
Father Luke
Founding member
Last edited by a moderator:
Johannes
Founding member
Not that it matters now, but I think what Mullinax (may he rest in peace) was referring to, was indeed "Down and Out in Paris and London" by Orwell.
I remember B. writing about it too somewhere, does anybody know, where it is/was? Something in the cited "not-even-scratched"-context and Factotum.
I tend to believe it was Sounes but I'm not sure and don't have the book.
I remember B. writing about it too somewhere, does anybody know, where it is/was? Something in the cited "not-even-scratched"-context and Factotum.
I tend to believe it was Sounes but I'm not sure and don't have the book.
Last edited by a moderator:
1st time
I had my heart broken back in 92 sad I know... I went into Towers books looking for poetry to wallow in my sorrow all the more.. OUT jumped from the shelf ...Love is a dog from hell...Catchy title for the heartbroken.. and that's all it took ...I am now in the midst of Ham on rye..
I had my heart broken back in 92 sad I know... I went into Towers books looking for poetry to wallow in my sorrow all the more.. OUT jumped from the shelf ...Love is a dog from hell...Catchy title for the heartbroken.. and that's all it took ...I am now in the midst of Ham on rye..
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Yeah, that was a great period of his writing, in my opinion. LIADFH is a great book.
I've heard several people say they first found Buk w/ LIADFH.
great book, and I think the title attracts like-minded people.
great book, and I think the title attracts like-minded people.
Gerard K H Love
Appreciate your friends
This dog's last name is Love. ;)
R
RichardWagons
I found a waterlogged copy of Women on the 50-cent rack outside of a now-defunct North Hollywood bookstore. I read it as I walked home and realized it was the funniest and most honest thing I'd ever read. That was in 1997, when I'd just turned 21, and was spending way too much time in bars and having women problems myself. I related.
You could buy a book collection cheaply through one of our daily newspapers. Among other interesting books was also 'Women' by Charles Bukowski. Having never heard of the man before I read a short description of the book on the sleeves. It immediately caught my attention and I read it several times since then. This happened two years ago and since then I've read all the books available in my language (poetry and prose) and began building my Buk collection.
A well-read friend of mine had a magazine devoted to Buk around 95-6 (don't know the title, pic of Buk on the cover) and left it on the table to impress a girl. I don't know if the girl was impressed but I was. A different friend in the same house had a copy of Roominghouse Madrigals. I loved that then got hooked. I bought Run with the Hunted and have been buying on and off ever since.
Funny how we all seem to have been hooked pretty quickly on Buk...
One day I hung around at my brother's, he handed me that strange little book by a bloke called Bukowski (actually pretty unknown in france), called Women. I went to the spirit shop and spent my night reading and drinkin beer. Kind of changed my way of life.
One day I hung around at my brother's, he handed me that strange little book by a bloke called Bukowski (actually pretty unknown in france), called Women. I went to the spirit shop and spent my night reading and drinkin beer. Kind of changed my way of life.
In high school, either junior or senior year, a friend of mine lent me Last Night of the Earth Poems. I didn't like all that much of it, but one poem really stuck out: something about 'my buddy, the valet at the racetrack.' Perfect motion in that poem, perfect cadence, exactly what I wanted to read, nothing more, nothing less.
But it still wasn't enough. Put down Bukowski for a while, went on to Baudelaire, Petrarch, Villon, Hamsun - all the delightfully somber writers of yore.
About 2 years ago (junior year at college), a friend of mine and I would often talk about topics of literary and philosophical nature. She began talking about Bukowski, reminded me that I had put him down with the expectation of picking him up again. Now, was I ready?
I then bought Tales of Ordinary Madness, and I got through maybe the first 5th of the book and put it down again. Waited. Waited.
By senior year of college, I was already well on my way to alcoholism, disillusionment, misogyny, and misanthropy. Too much schooling. Not enough fun or, as Buk calls it, moxie, dance, so on... And so for that spring break (bumming around LA without any plan, place to stay, nor too many friends) it made sense to return to Tales.... I ended up devouring it.
Since then, I find it difficult to read anything else as exclusively. Once I start a Bukowski book, I have to finish it before starting any other reading project. 2 summers ago, I spent the entire summer moving from one book to another: Women to Factotum to Ham on Rye. After I put down Bukowski, I read a bit of Fante (remember - Bukowski mentions him in Women [I believe]) (which is really like reading a more literary and Catholic Bukowski), but then after, whole months transpired when I couldn't read anything. I could just sit on Bukowski and wait until the next time I was ready to enter his quizzical, paradoxical, tragicomical world.
I've since realized at least one thing about Bukowski. I'm pretty sure he's the real-life manifestation of Fyodor Karamazov (I plan to flesh out this idea more in an essay). He can see his own buffoonery from a unique perspective - from outside and from within at the same time - which reminds me of the scene with Fyodor in Zosima's cell. And it makes me wonder if this isn't why he's so enjoyable to read. Modern life and literature are all about this dualistic self-perception...
More later.
Enjoy jacking off
But it still wasn't enough. Put down Bukowski for a while, went on to Baudelaire, Petrarch, Villon, Hamsun - all the delightfully somber writers of yore.
About 2 years ago (junior year at college), a friend of mine and I would often talk about topics of literary and philosophical nature. She began talking about Bukowski, reminded me that I had put him down with the expectation of picking him up again. Now, was I ready?
I then bought Tales of Ordinary Madness, and I got through maybe the first 5th of the book and put it down again. Waited. Waited.
By senior year of college, I was already well on my way to alcoholism, disillusionment, misogyny, and misanthropy. Too much schooling. Not enough fun or, as Buk calls it, moxie, dance, so on... And so for that spring break (bumming around LA without any plan, place to stay, nor too many friends) it made sense to return to Tales.... I ended up devouring it.
Since then, I find it difficult to read anything else as exclusively. Once I start a Bukowski book, I have to finish it before starting any other reading project. 2 summers ago, I spent the entire summer moving from one book to another: Women to Factotum to Ham on Rye. After I put down Bukowski, I read a bit of Fante (remember - Bukowski mentions him in Women [I believe]) (which is really like reading a more literary and Catholic Bukowski), but then after, whole months transpired when I couldn't read anything. I could just sit on Bukowski and wait until the next time I was ready to enter his quizzical, paradoxical, tragicomical world.
I've since realized at least one thing about Bukowski. I'm pretty sure he's the real-life manifestation of Fyodor Karamazov (I plan to flesh out this idea more in an essay). He can see his own buffoonery from a unique perspective - from outside and from within at the same time - which reminds me of the scene with Fyodor in Zosima's cell. And it makes me wonder if this isn't why he's so enjoyable to read. Modern life and literature are all about this dualistic self-perception...
More later.
Enjoy jacking off
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Yes, I love jacking off - what self-respecting man (/woman) doesn't?
But I also like the stories and novels more than the poetry. For the most part. I have not, however, read as many poems as I have prose-pieces. I'm working on it, but lo! that takes time and dedication...
I get the sense that Bukowski was born to write prose more than poetry just like Shakespeare was born to write comedy more than tragedy (though comically enough, he is known mostly for his tragedies - as Buk, I believe, is known mostly for his poetry).
Does anyone have some suggestions for good poetry collections by Bukowski?
Keep Jackin'/Jillin' Off...
But I also like the stories and novels more than the poetry. For the most part. I have not, however, read as many poems as I have prose-pieces. I'm working on it, but lo! that takes time and dedication...
I get the sense that Bukowski was born to write prose more than poetry just like Shakespeare was born to write comedy more than tragedy (though comically enough, he is known mostly for his tragedies - as Buk, I believe, is known mostly for his poetry).
Does anyone have some suggestions for good poetry collections by Bukowski?
Keep Jackin'/Jillin' Off...
CarversDog
RIP
Apropos of nothing I add this Bukowski poem:
why is it that the pickup truck
carrying the loose refrigerator
on the freeway
is always going between
80 and 90 m.p.h.?
why is it that the pickup truck
carrying the loose refrigerator
on the freeway
is always going between
80 and 90 m.p.h.?
mjp
Founding member
I think you will find that is the minority view here. Though the prose certainly brings in more converts (it brought me in, back in the day), but his forte was poetry, no doubt about it.
Father Luke
Founding member
His collection of limericks would be an ideal place to start.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
or his haikus....
Bill
Bill
here's one from his best known collection...
there once was a man named Buk
who said his name rhymed with puke
he went and got drunk
thought he found a lady for his spunk
but it was really a poodle called Duke.
Thanks for the suggestions. And thanks for the limerick. It's funny enough, but not very metric (probably written when drunk and/or screwing a poodle).
The friend I mentioned who turned me on to Buk in college - she always loved the 'bluebird in my soul' poem. That's a refreshing little thing, for sure.
I've read a bit of the poetry concerning his youth (mostly from Run with the Hunted), and frankly I think it is so inexpressive in comparison to the stories in Ham on Rye. That is my favorite novel of his, so far, because I have rarely ever felt so much sympathy and love for such a deadbeat. That he could evoke that strange, tottering feeling in me is impressive. But having read Ham..., I was just bored while reading poetry about his father, et.als.
Now, I've toured some through this website, and it seems that Roominghouse Madrigals might be a fun place to start for poetry.
Always making it.
The friend I mentioned who turned me on to Buk in college - she always loved the 'bluebird in my soul' poem. That's a refreshing little thing, for sure.
I've read a bit of the poetry concerning his youth (mostly from Run with the Hunted), and frankly I think it is so inexpressive in comparison to the stories in Ham on Rye. That is my favorite novel of his, so far, because I have rarely ever felt so much sympathy and love for such a deadbeat. That he could evoke that strange, tottering feeling in me is impressive. But having read Ham..., I was just bored while reading poetry about his father, et.als.
Now, I've toured some through this website, and it seems that Roominghouse Madrigals might be a fun place to start for poetry.
Always making it.
everyone's a critic.
and I wasn't drunk, but the poodle was.
roominghouse is a fine start, and I would also recommend;
that's what first pulled me in...
Discovering Bukowski
I had just moved to Kalamazoo, MI, from a town of 7,000 about 45 minutes southwest of Kalamazoo. I'd lived in the town of 7,000 after spending 4.5 years attending college in Ann Arbor (quite the culture shock). I started going to a small local bookseller's place downtown. When there, I kept seeing "Love Is A Dog From Hell." The name sounded too cliche for me, but one day, for some reason, I picked it up and took a look. The poems really struck me, in part because of their grit, in part because of their honesty, in part because of their humor, and in part because of their humility. I picked up some more of his poetry and, eventually, all of his novels. Coming from a family which included an emotionally abusive father, I easily identified with Bukowski's sense of bitterness, distrust, cynicism and alienation. I knew his experiences. At that point, I was also drinking a lot in an attempt to dull the pain. I don't drink much any more (and I don't begrudge anyone who does), but I still LOVE Bukowski.
I had just moved to Kalamazoo, MI, from a town of 7,000 about 45 minutes southwest of Kalamazoo. I'd lived in the town of 7,000 after spending 4.5 years attending college in Ann Arbor (quite the culture shock). I started going to a small local bookseller's place downtown. When there, I kept seeing "Love Is A Dog From Hell." The name sounded too cliche for me, but one day, for some reason, I picked it up and took a look. The poems really struck me, in part because of their grit, in part because of their honesty, in part because of their humor, and in part because of their humility. I picked up some more of his poetry and, eventually, all of his novels. Coming from a family which included an emotionally abusive father, I easily identified with Bukowski's sense of bitterness, distrust, cynicism and alienation. I knew his experiences. At that point, I was also drinking a lot in an attempt to dull the pain. I don't drink much any more (and I don't begrudge anyone who does), but I still LOVE Bukowski.