Product Description
Book description to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The Roominghouse Madrigals
As hackneyed as this may sound, this early collection of Bukowski's poetry is undoubtedly some of his most astounding. As several other people have mentioned this book is strangely different from his later works. I've read a vast amount from this writer, and from my perspective this is unarguably some of his finest--a must have for all.

Good Work
Those who find Bukowski's novels a little thin in substance and diversity may want to turn to these early poems, which are indicative of the late writer's considerable talent. Bukowksi's poetry is base, unadorned, and funny. He identifies strongly with the common man, perhaps more authentically than the beats or other subterranean movements of the same period. This collection is a strong representation of his early skill as a craftsman; his voice his genuinely present throughout. Stand out poem is `Genius of the Crowd.'

Bukowski's Early Uncollected Poems
Charles Bukowski (1920 -- 1994) is best known as the writer of novels such as "Ham On Rye" and "Women", which are based upon the author's life and feature a character named Henry Chinaski, and for movies such as "Barfly" and "Factotum" based upon Bukowski's novels and stories.But Bukowski saw himself primarily as a poet. He wrote prolifically for years, publishing frequently in journals and little magazines.His extensive writing belies, somewhat, Bukowski's public image.It shows a person interested in considerably more that alcohol, horseracing, and sex.Bukowski devoted a great deal of time and energy to becoming a writer.

The collection"Roominghouse Madrigals" was published by Black Sparrow Press in 1988, following the success of the movie "Barfly."Black Sparrow had already published several collections of Bukowski's poetry, but "Roominghous Madrigals" is a collection of earlier material, writen between 1946 and 1966.In fact, the collection dates overwhelmingly from the latter ten years, as Bukowski virtually had stopped writing during the mid 1940s to mid 1950s.In the forward to the collection, Bukowski writes that he and some editorial assistants attempted to gather together some of the poems from Bukowski's earliest efforts for publication in the book.He describes the poems as "more lyrical" than his subsequent efforts and that he retains a "certain fondness" for them because of the life of cheap roominghouses, menial jobs, lack of money, and effort at writing that they recalled to the him.

As with much of Bukowski's poetry, the poems of "Roominghouse Madrigals" are short, broken-lined, unrhymed and unmetered.They generally speak directly to the author's immediate experiences. Whitman is a source for Bukowski's poetry (Emily Dickinson may be as well, given the personal character of the poems) as is the 20th Century poet Robinson Jeffers.The book is long for a collection of poetry (256 pages) and the poems are put together without apparent sequence and with no attempt to correlate the poem with the year in which it was writtin or to its initial publication, if any.

I found "Roominghouse Madrigals" a mixed collection with some poems working, others not.The book is dark and pessimistic, as a whole, with many poems exploring themes of death and suicide, violence and hard living, loneliness, and a broad sense of alienation.The book differs from some of Bukowski's later work in its use of elaborate metaphor, which is frequently highly striking, vivid, and surrealistic. In addition, this collection frequently explores themes at a more abstract level than does most of Bukowski's later poetry.As with most of Bukowski's work, there is a sense of redemption in this book, as the poet tries to create a meaningful life in the crassness or his surroundings through the practice of capturing his experiences in art.

Some of the poems in the collection that I found effective include "It's not who Lived Here", "Poem for my 43d Birthday", "The Japanese Wife", "The Loser", "All I know", "Old Man Dead in a Room", "Counsel", "Goldfish", "Sad-Eyed Mules of Men" "The Gypsies near Del Mar", and "Rose, Rose".Overall, this collection of early, scattered works does not represent the best of Bukowski's poetry.

Readers might want to check the pagination carefully before purchasing "The Roominghouse Madrigals."In my copy, pages 133 -- 164 are included twice while pages 165--196 are missing.

Robin Friedman

worth reading if you're a fan
If you're a Buk fan you'll want to check out his earlier 'more lyrical' poetry;basically not as raw and hard-hitting as his work in the Seventies and beyond, a bit more fancy word-work involved, but still interesting.If you're not a fan, and prefer all that pretentious abstract imagist poetry, then this is probably the only book by the man that you might like...

beware: this book, this author
yes, if you are famailiar with Buk, then fine, I need not tell you how his early books, like those of Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, and Celine, are so absurdly full of something ineffable.(Of course this ineffable thing would be, to find yourself with no other option, than to live the life of an artist, before you are recognized as such.How does one express that?And what does expression matter, when it's production we are concerned with?)And yet, we'll read his books anyway.By far, the best American poet - ever.I say this in the same way I would say Shakespeare is the best English playwrite, ever.If you wish to consider yourself, anything above insipid, this book is imperative. If you wish to find a hook on which to hang your schizophrenic tendencies...look no further.Buk's best book...hand's down.Buy it, love it, and Beware... ... Read more

Product Description
It began as a whim an impulsive meeting between the iconic Charles Bukowski and his famed muse, Pamela Cupcakes Wood that would lead to a two-year relationship that Wood chronicles in this straightforward memoir. Her story is refreshingly blunt as she details their often ridiculous, yet charming relationship. This is a Bukowski enthusiast's dream a total immersion into his life with the independent and spirited Scarlet, the woman he wrote about in the book of the same name, plus many poems. She appears as Tammie in Bukowski's book Women. Who is Scarlet? What was the powerful chemistry between Bukowski and the woman whose identity intrigued so many? Written with engaging wit, this is an insightful, honest recollection of their life together: loving, humorous, complicated and, at times, outrageous. We see Buk as a gifted, flawed man and glimpse his simmering violence when under the influence of alcohol, yet we appreciate him for his deeply sensitive and compassionate underlying nature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

CUPCAKES!!!
Pamela,

Charles Bukowski is my mentor, my hero, my inspiration when it comes to writing/poetry.I plan on visiting his grave in the next few years and cracking a Heineken in his memory....

I'm a Charles Bukowski collector/fanatic/fan, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this book. I've read it twice through in the past two months and it is absolutely glorious.

Fans of Mr. Bukowski who either weren't alive or were to young during his lifetime to truly appreciate him and his legacy are so blessed to have this piece of literature.Pamela has written an honest, unbiased, firsthand account of life with Charles Bukowski.She is perfectly comfortable with the young girl she was during these years yet she isn't hesitant to share the wisdom she has gained as she's progressed in years.There is recollection, regret, satisfaction, and embarrassment displayed here.We get a glimpse into the private moments of Charles Bukowski's life from another person's point-of-view.Fans of his novels, poems, short stories will find that Pamela's accounts fill in missing pieces in his life story which played out in: Love is a Dog From Hell, Born Into This and so many other places.....Pamela's perspective is a priceless treasure.

What I respect most about this novel is the RESPECT she has for Mr. Bukowski despite their differences and their eventual breakup.In recollection, she realizes and understands how blessed and special she is to have been part of his life both literary and literally.She regrets not having talked to him after their split--always imagining she'd see him again--and really brings the reader to tears (if they have any connection to Hank) by the end of the book.Pamela, I'd give anything to be able to tell you in person how much this book means to me. I'll read it ten more times without a doubt.Thank you.Thank you.THANK YOU!!!!

Charles Bukowski fans.....don't hesitate....add it to your cart...support Pamela....she is in this to share her experiences with the man we all know and love....Charles HANK Bukowski...it isn't some desperate attempt to CASH-IN

well written
great information
filling in gaps left in Hank's stories/poems/prose
a gem in the the world that is CHARLES BUKOWSKI

5 Stars!

YES!!!!!!!!!

This is a tour de force of Los Angeles in the 70s
You don't need to be a fan of Charles Bukowski to love this book. It is a tour de force of life in Los Angeles in the mid 1970s, from the run-down apartments in East Hollywood to the Hollywood Ranch Market to the Hollywood Zody's. And even better, it is an endearing and amusing commentary on the sometimes crazy and dysfunctional nature of romantic relationships.

Great read for Bukowski fans
This is the book Bukowski readers have been waiting for.

Pamela Wood gives us an intimate look into their relationship, well written and much enjoyed.

I gave the book four stars because unless you have read or know something of Bukowski, you will miss out on some of the enjoyment of the book.

Thank You Sun Dog Press.

Amazing companion book to WOMEN
An amazingly entertaining read by Ms. Wood. This book makes a great companion to the novel WOMEN.Every chapter is enlightening and entertaining.A true page turner.You cannot go wrong with this book. Pick this up at your local independent bookstore, chain store or online, but pick it up.You will not be disappointed.If I had a third hand, I'd give this book three thumbs up.

The most intimate peek into Bukowski's life you are likely to ever read
When she met him late one drunken evening with a friend in tow (Georgia, star of an infamous Bukowski kitchen photograph), Pamela "Cupcakes" Miller could not have known that she would become forever entwined in the story of Charles Bukowski's life. This tremendous first-person account gives a look into a side of Bukowski that has been hinted at in other biographies, but never revealed in-depth.

The story has all the elements that you would expect, plus many that may surprise you. Bukowski loved Pam, though he sometimes showed that love in ways that would have tried the patience of any mere mortal. But Pam enjoyed the freedom of Bukowski's world, and their on again, off again relationship lasted for quite some time. While he would have been happy to continue on with her in his life, in the end she had to make a choice, and that choice closed the door on Bukowski and his often chaotic world. His future wife Linda entered as Pam was exiting, and Bukowski's life eventually changed as well.

A great look into not only Bukowski's world but the Los Angeles of the 1970s. A place that is long gone, both in spirit and recognizable landmarks. Including the Carlton Way bungalow where many of the scenes in Scarlet played out. But this isn't a book about Los Angeles, it is a book about Bukowski and Pam, and it will not disappoint anyone with an interest in Bukowski, or a curiosity about how he lived in the days of his increasing notoriety.

This is an essential piece of the Bukowski picture, and I'm glad that someone as significant to Bukowski as Pamela was wrote it all down for us.

Three thumbs up! Six stars! Buy it! What are you waiting for? ... Read more

Product Description

Hot Water Music is a collection of short stories by Charles Bukowski, published in 1983. The collection deals largely with: drinking, women, gambling, and writing. It is an important collection that establishes Bukowski's minimalist style and his thematic oeuvre.

Customer Reviews (18)

my fav
i've read every single bukowski novel and short story collection, as well as a bunch of his poetry. for some reason, this book sticks out as my favorite. As far as his short story collections go, this is a really strong collection of him during his peak creative period.

read it twice.

". . . trying in vain to sleep, and deserving that rest, if they could find it."
The stories in Hot Water Music are the equivalent of walking through the worst parts of town at the best times, when both ends of the social spectrum empty--the gutters and nice houses--and the scumbags within start to move from bar to bar with a bad attitude, filling their guts with handout bar pretzels and stale popcorn. Bukowski follows these people around for awhile and ditches them before they become old news. These thirty-six stories rarely exceed six-pages, and they don't need to. We get a sense of the vulgarity that rubs its belly near the feet of us all.

This is standard Bukowski fare: women, booze, coming to grips with popularity after a life of being shunned and enjoying it. At their worst, these stories are uneventfully bleak ("Turkeyneck Morning") or just sort of uneventful ("In And Out And Over"). At their best, these are stories of perverts and weirdos settling for less than what everyone else expects them to. The characters in these stories are drunks, rapists, sexual hounds with pathetic justifications for drinking whatever flows down the curb. Though this collection gets a bit tedious towards the end, the great writing Bukowski cultivated with the previous year's Ham On Rye sees him taking his minimalistic approach to life and language and turning it into a series of blinks past the windows where the shady people dwell.

Don't read this book...
Let me say that I am a huge Bukowski fan.I absolutely adore Factotum, Women, Ham On Rye, Hollywood and Post Office.Unfortunately, this book is not of that caliber.In fact, Hot Water Music is so bad that it's hard to read.The stories aren't funny, are very repititious, and are pointless.I would say this book is about as bad as Pulp, which was horrible.Bukowski is just not a fiction writer.He's only good when he writes about his personal experiences.If you have exhausted all his novels and are looking for some decent Buk, South of No North is okay, but forgettable.Notes of a Dirty Old Man also is interesting, even worth rereading.But let this be a warning: Hot Water Music is terrible and so is Pulp, so don't buy them.

Lukewarm Liquid Haikus
I am quite the fan of Bukowski.I enjoyed Factotum, Pulp, and Post Office in particular, and I think Ham On Rye is a work of art.Perhaps the only real catch to Bukowski's work is that he is something of a one trick pony.Don't get me wrong, though.It's still a good trick.

Where Bukowski fails in his writing (when he fails at all) is when he allows his nihilism to devolve into creative redundancy.He doesn't have very many points to make, and sometimes he tends to make them in the same way.Still, the man is a craftsman when it comes to the rough-hewn and the unflinching gaze of existentialism.

This is why I was disappointed by Hot Water Music.

Bukowski's themes (which are a lot deeper than just drunkeness, sex, ambivalence, and poverty, as some of the other reviews here seem to suggest) translate remarkably well when they are drawn out novelistically by his crisp, spare prose and his dry, gritty dialogue.In his books he takes his time teasing his message out of dark shadows and, when it is exposed to the light, he crushes its skull with a sledgehammer.

Short stories, of course, don't give him as much leisure for dilly-dallying, and as a result his work here is blunter (inasumcuh as that's possible) and duller and far more repetitive.The majority of these stories are about, of course, ambiently depressed alcoholics who haven't the motivation or energy to do anything but keep digging their own grave.You read enough stories about soused women farting and horny men with hemorrhoids and your head starts to swim.Some people might argue that these stories are meant simply to be funny, and depending on your sense of humor, they are -- but no one likes to hear the same joke told ten, twelve, or twenty times in a row.Unless, of course, you really really like the joke.

The more absurd pieces (You Kissed Lilly, Strokes to Nowhere, and I Love You, Albert) are fun enough, and although their playfulness tends to be vacuous, they are still chewy enough to be enjoyable.And there are really some remarkably subtle and clever stories here as well.Most notable among these are Cold Night, The Upward Bird, Beer at the Corner Bar, The Death of the Father II, In and Out and Over, and Head Job.

In these Bukowski trades in his usual and obvious attempts at crassness and crudity for a more ghostly skill: the stories are delivered with his typical point-blank attitude, but their profundity is couched without bravado or brassiness.His short stories work best when they avoid the more blatant trademarks of his novels -- liquor-soaked abuse and disdain.Head Job, especially, is notable for being the first time that I have ever read Bukowski write something from a woman's point of view, and he does it admirably.

This is a decent but repetitive collection of stories, with gems interspersed throughout, but the overall impression is mostly lukewarm, although hardcore fans will love it.

Edgy laughs and splendid moments from the Poet Laureate of the American gutter
Ah, the Drunken Master his own self...here he is at his best, writing pleasingly spare and oft hilarious vignettes of his later life's ramblings through the bars and bedrooms of Hollywood's seedier avenues.

Not recommended if you don't like to drink, laugh and/or are easily offended...Buk is as far from politically correct as Santa is from Antartica...but oh man, the laughs that his laconic delivery can produce!

His genius also lies in his occasional moments of true clarity...once in a while he flat out nails what it is to be human, male, drunk, or just a bum treading water while waiting for St. Peter's inevitable rejection.

Of the great writers in the English language, few other than Chaucer are this saucy and brazen and unabashed...and yes, I think Buk's best work can stand beside Joyce and Hem and Whitman and even the mighty Shake when it comes to revealing some of life's truths. Especially the antisocial male's truths.Bukowski keeps it simple and to the point, and has a special talent for revealing the joys of the mundane...his territory is very much his own, the hallmark of a truly classic writer.

Be forewarned, there are some verrrrry edgy moments here...but CB's willingness to confront aspects of the human (well, male--very male) psyche that others dare not go near makes him the unique freak that he is.

His poetry comes and goes, as do his novels, though Post Office and Women are classics. His short stories have the most humor and twisted pathos, and this is the best collection, methinks. "The Great Poet" alone is worth the price of admission. Buk loves to hold the idiocy of fame and our culture's shallowness up to the light...usually the barroom light...and no one else has quite his way with love scenes...if you can call them that...

Many women find Bukowski to be a pig. Fair enough. But when you're wondering if your new girl will put up with you in the long run, give her this and wait for the reaction. If she laughs, you're good to go.

Warning: this book will make you want to crack a cold one or three, or seven, just to enjoy the happily nihilistic thrill of not giving a damn.

I don't reread many books...life is too short, with too many books left to enjoy...but this one gets read at least once a year, usually when I need the solace and joy of drinking a few too many at two in the morning while laughing my ass off.

One of the funniest books of all time, if you like your laughs a little warped.

... Read more

Product Description

Poems deal with writing, death and immortality, literature, city life, illness, war, and the past.

Customer Reviews (21)

final fantasy?
This book blew me away!Bukowski's final book of poetry before he died ( his final book was the novel PULP ).There is comedy, sadness, and introspection as he reviews his life.His skills are as sharp as ever; many critics claimed his brain was cooked in his later years---NOT TRUE!This book is a must read.

perspective of an old man
i was spoiled by bukowski when i read "love is a dog from hell". poems written about the time when the man stood close to the heat of the fire of his life. "last night on earth poems" seem to be looking at the glowing embers of that life. some good ones in there, to be sure, but if you expect the fire, you had been put a coat on. read it and understand more the thoughts and words of a man reflecting back.

Fantastic!!
I wish I discovered Bukowski earlier in my life. This book is just wonderful! Highly recommended!!!

Bukowski Still Going Strong
Having been a long standing fan of Bukowski's work I am partial to this book because it represents his later work which is just as powerful as any of his early lyrical work like Crucifix in a Deathand and It Catches My Heart In It's Hand. Poems like Dinosaura,We; In The Shadow of the Rose and My Uncle Jack capture the author still at the peak of his creative powers. Of course there are the typical Buk topics like horseracing, boozing, women, the outsiders, but Bukowski takes a soft turn by dedicating a poem to his wife which will catch many Buk fans surprisingly off guard. If you are new to Charles Bukowski's writing you will definitely want to get this book; it will inspire you to try his other books. If you're a long time Buk reader, you probably have this one in your collection already. I highly recommend The Last Night of the Earth Poems to everyone
that has a taste for earthy, lyrical and ballsy poetry.

Death is smoking my cigars...
...and.....

The piano has been drinking
My necktie's asleep
The combo went back to New York, and left me all alone
The jukebox has to take a leak
Have you noticed that the carpet needs a haircut?
And the spotlight looks just like a prison break
And the telephone's out of cigarettes
As usual the balcony's on the make
And the piano has been drinking, heavily
The piano has been drinking
And he's on the hard stuff tonight

The piano has been drinking
And you can't find your waitress
Even with the Geiger counter
And I guarantee you that she will hate you
From the bottom of her glass
And all of your friends remind you
That you just can't get served without her
The piano has been drinking

The piano has been drinking
And the lightman's blind in one eye
And he can't see out of the other
And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid
And he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
Without fear of contradiction I say
The piano has been drinking

Our Father who art in ?
Hallowed by thy glass
Thy kindom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in the lounges
Give us this day our daily splash
Forgive us our hangovers
As we forgive all those who continue to hangover against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver from evil and someone you must all ride home

Because the piano has been drinking
And he's your friend not mine
Because the piano has been drinking
And he's not my responsibility

The bouncer is this Sumo wrestler
Kinda cream puff casper milk toast
And the owner is just a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
I'm going down, hang onto me, I'm going down
Watch me skate across an acre of linoleum
I know I can do it, I'm in total control
And the piano has been drinking
And he's embarassing me
The piano has been drinking, he raided his mini bar

The piano has been drinking
And the bar stools are all on fire
And all the newspapers were just fooling
And the ash-trays have retired
And I've got a feeling that the piano has been drinking
It's just a hunch
The piano has been drinking and he's going to lose his lunch
And the piano has been drinking
Not me, not me, The piano has been drinking not me

Enjoy this book kiddies.Buk can do no wrong, he never did.Turn on only one lamp, with no shade (as if there ever was one), open up a bottle of Ol' Red Eye, throw the cap away, put on some T.Waits, and cherish the fact that you and your misery are not as alone as you thought. ... Read more

Product Description
Bukowski in Pictures is the first pictorial biography of Charles Bukowski, legendary author of classic books such as Post Office, Ham on Rye and Notes of a Dirty Old Man, and the subject of the Hollywood movie Barfly.Bukowski's picaresque life - as driven writer, heavy drinker, Hollywood celebrity, family man and unlikely Don Juan - is illustrated with approximately two hundred photographs, many of which are published here for the first time. Friends, family and lovers have contributed candid photographs, and there are powerful new portraits by leading photographers.Extracts from personal letters and rare documents offer new insights that delve behind the public persona.The end result is a fascinating life in pictures that is essential for all Bukowski fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Review of Bukowski in Pictures
I own a copy of this book and was so impressed by it I ordered a copy for a friend. An excellent book that I thumb through over and over again. It really helps you capture who Charles Bukowski was. I love it! Very well done. Factual. Emotional. Informative. Beautiful.

excellent!
Lots of pictures & worth the money. I bought mine at Borders--and don't regret it. Howard Sounes did a wonderful job of putting it all together. Even includes photos of some of Bukowski's old haunts (bars and such where he hung out), as well photos taken when he lived in various dives before he made it. Photos of his daughter Marina, photos of some of the women he dated--and even one of the great love of his life: Jane Cooney Baker. Not to be missed. Top notch all the way. I'd like to see them do a sequel to this. Get it if you can!

A strange world, an unapologetic man
Wow! There is definitely a whole world where Allie Mcbeal-esque angst does not exist and I think I like it. Bukowski, of which this book was my introduction, is wholly unapologetic about his life, loves, lusts and somewhat audacious lifestyle.

I was going to say that Bukowski is more a man's writer than a women's although I wondered about the reaction to that as so many women clearly love him. But his writing is so steeped in the seedy, upfront, hard-nosed male appealing style. Maybe it is just that it is that I only know males who have read his works. Either way he is a strange fish. After this I went on to read a book of people's impressions of Buck, much more informative I think. In this I felt a little like I was left with his reflection rather than a clear insight into him.

An interesting way of meeting Buck to see if you like his stuff, or him at all.

Everything You Wanted To See About Buk
An excellent & well laid-out book displaying the life of Charles Bukowski. The book shows the real people & places depicted in Buk's poems & stories. It even has a photo of his grave which brings it home that such a lively individual is no longer with us even though new books of his unpublished/uncollected poems continue to be published. Alan/2001

For your Bukowski library
You should develop a taste for Bukowski's writing before delving into this 153-page album, because many of the photos, taken at face value, are a bit repulsive. (Bukowski fans, however, seem to develop a tolerance for the face, and in fact, it's a significant part of Bukowski's mystique.) There are about 240 pix in the book, several showing the covers of his various publications.A good many are pretty fuzzy snapshots, although Bukwoski fans should find that of little import. They suit me fine, because I'm always curious about where and how people live, whom they associate with, and how they carry on their daily lives. The text is derived from Howard Sounes' research for his biography of Bukowski, and some of the photos appear in that book. Absent from that bio and from "Bukowski in Pictures" are any of the excellent photos by Michael Montfort, who shot most if not all of the author photos appearing in Bukowski's Black Sparrow Press editions, including the photos appearing in "Shakespeare Never Did This."All in all, I consider this a valuable addition to a Bukowski collector's library. ... Read more

Product Description
Book description to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Late-model Buk
I'm not a big fan of Buk's poetry, and this volume is about half filled with his prose poetry.Nonetheless, they are entertaining filler for more of the short-story writing in which he also excels.Only on the subject of baseball does he kind of fall flat in these, otherwise just more late-edition Bukowski-views of the world he unfortunately lives in--or fortunately for us, the guy complains in such a way that you just can't help agree with him, whether its how Italians or Hollywood actors don't drink wine correctly (it's to make you DRUNK) or Chinaski crawling from one horrid bar scene to the next.

A great escape.
When I was living in the Philippines, my dad brought this with him from the States (I asked for it). I read it in a day and a half. Going to a school I hated and feeling trapped and boxed up, being an outcast, was a lot easier with this book (and a guitar, but mostly that came afterwards). This was my first Bukowski book and I love his work. I wanna read everything they've got of him.

Back when he was alive!
HE WAS never a very good suicide. 'I gave it a go now and then but something always used to go wrong.' As we stand on the brink of war and global recession, what better than to trash the poll tax demand, order a hat trick of tequilas and settle down with an uplifting collection from Bukowski? These poems and prose are so clean and sparse one almost wants to rummage through Bukowski's bin for all the adjectives and adverbs. They are cut-throat tales of the back alleys of America, ergo the West, of a world more dire than that of Ivan Denisovich.

Of course, Bukowski always has a companion, wherever he walks there is always another, wrapped in brown mantle, beside him. But it's only a chemical. It produces a kind of gin-soaked doggerel that is surely the perfect form to describe sleeping on park benches, working the assembly lines, and pensioners with a dollar to their name who pull triggers to alleviate terminal disease. Tragic humour is strewn liberally. In one poem, the Barfly who thanks to Mickey Rourke now drives a BMW, muses on suffering for art as he fingers his Gold Card. He writes of how the critics prefer the poems about him freezing and starving on cheap wine.

With his easy transition into post-Hollywood prosperity he has shown himself to be not just another angry young man although his 'difficulties with women' as the press release puts it, show him to be no less misogynistic. But luckily, the years of body-abuse have not affected the clarity of his vision. It is of a people for whom the word 'change' means distraction, for whom thinking is painful. They move in circles of hopelessness. This sometimes infects his words with the sour, if inevitable, tang of decadence. But then, as he himself demonstrates in his poem Nowhere, most English-language authors are writing dross. With so little competition, he can only soar.

(from 1990 and by the author of "The Dream of the Decade - The London Novels")

The old horseplayer beat the odds....
This is my second favorite volume of Bukowski. I know this because it has the second greatest number of pages dog-eared over so I can find them again.

Why do I like it? OK, it is because when I read most modern stuff, or watch modern films for that matter, I wonder what planet they are living on. It is seldom anything I recognise. When I read Bukowski, either the poems or the short stories or the novels, I recognise the real world. It is just so damn refreshing to see that there is someone being published that is not totally disconnected with reality- at least working class reality.

Will you like this book? Well, skip to page 282 and read "the masses." If you don't like it, then you ain't going to like the rest....

There is another reason that I like this book. It emphacises that the old horseplayer beat the odds and actually made it into his seventies. He "Buk'd" some steep odds there....

Just in case you don't understand spanish
In the previous review I was telling that this book was published in spanish but ONLY the stories, not the poems. I can't understand why the guys at Anagrama did this.I cant understand why none of Bukowski poetry books are published in spanish either. And I say that this book is good, not Buk best, but good. (you'll wonder why 5 stars then? Because the good books deserve 10 or more stars) ... Read more

Product Description

from "neither Shakespeare nor Mickey Spillane"

young young young, only wanting the Word,
going mad in the streets and in the bars,
brutal fights, broken glass, crazy women
screaming in
your cheap room,
you a familiar guest at the drunk tank, North
Avenue 21, Lincoln Heights

sifting through the madness for the Word, the
line
the way,
hoping for a check from somewhere,
dreaming of a letter from a great editor:
"Chinaski, you don't know how long we've beenwaiting for you!"

no chance at all.

Customer Reviews (8)

Review
Buy it. Read it. Feel it. Love it. And then read it again.

Bukowski may be one of my favorite authors, not only for the style and way he writes,
but also the raw truth in what he writes.

No flitty,embellished, wordy trying-to-make-poerty crap.

It's real. And it has actual meaning.

You don't have to be a scholar to see how great of a writer he is.
And you don't have to be a scholar to understand it.

Because he's just like the rest of us, he's human.

What Do Expect, The Guy Is Dead
If you're a Bukowski fan, you can't get enough. Just read it, it can't hurt except your pocket book, and if you're that skeptical go to the library.
Is that one says about a great artist/author's work after they're dead? It's redundant and mediocre?
It's just like when you like certain music and end-up collecting compilations. This book contains a lot of the old, but some new material and Bukowski carries on from the dead.
By all means you should read his earlier works, but all is good too.

Not his best, but still readable.
Charles Bukowski, Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way (Ecco, 2003)

Yet another collection of posthumously-published work from the ten thousand pages Buk left after his death, Sifting... is an inconsistent piece of work at best, like most of Buk's later collections of poetry. Every once in a while you get a great snatch of writing like the one that became the title of the collection, but it's mostly just the same old Buk, chopping up witty observations into line that look like poetry. That said, Buk was better than most at the chopping itself; he had an innate sense of what was really important in a piece, however vague it might be, and accenting it with the size and shape of the poem itself, making his prose-chopped-up-into-lines more readable than the vast majority of same.

The best thing about Sifting... is that it contains a lot more of the gems among the dross than many of Buk's later collections. You'll find yourself nodding and smiling every two or three pages here; not as much as in his best stuff (Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame remains the height of Bukowski's poetic achievement), but a lot more than in some of the recent books.

Worth it for Bukowski fans. Others might want to start wth Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame, War All the Time, or one of the other "best-of" collections from the early and middle periods. *** ½

please be more careful with the man
To make it short: this is not Bukowski's best work. And it doesn't have to be. He published over 40 books when he was still alive and all that is released now after his death are the Left-overs. Some are stronger, some are weaker, but one thing is clear: with collections like this one you might scare off future readers because what can be found in this collection is less than average in quality for Bukowski. If you want to go ahead and discover Bukowski (and I strongly recommend that), buy one of his earlier books of poetry like: Burning in water, drowning in flame OR Dangling in the Tournefortia. This is where you find some of the best poems ever written in English. This new book is o.k., but at least wait until it comes out in Paperback...

Getting the Hang of Being Dead?
Much better stuff than previous posthumous publications.Buk may eventually surpass Hemingway for more books published dead than alive. ... Read more

Product Description
Este es el primer libro publicado en Espana de un autor entonces desconocido, que alcanzo rapido gran popularidad. En pocos anos paso de escritor maldito a leyenda viviente. Los relatos de este libro parecen extraidos de las tripas ulcerosas de su narrador, escritos entre ataques de delirium tremens, orgias y fantasias alcoholicas, con el crudo lenguaje de la calle como nadie lo habia hecho. ... Read more

Product Description
Book description to come.Amazon.com Review
Look out L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E poets, Beats, and bad-boy= comedians.Bukowski was running the show long before you. He's the guy you eitherlove to love or love to hate. Big-mouthed, bold and brassy as always,Bukowski lets loose in this eclectic collection of letters, poems anddrawings. An excellent addition to his poetry, Bukowski's lettersdepict a male heart that looks like it's encased in blackleather. Look again; it's red-blooded, warm and blatantly honest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

FOR BUKOWSKI!

The second book of letters published by Black Sparrow Press, this volume gives the reader a good idea of the goofyness and despair of a working-class life. Leavened with humour and insight, ranking with the great books of letters of 20th-century American literature. The denizens of Bukowski.net take heed: the moderator is a failed artist who yearns for respectability, but has found none. His criticisms of Bukowski's editor, John Martin, are unfounded!

You Can't Help But Love Him
To be honest, I still haven't finished this book.I keep it next to my bed for when I feel most alone.Try to keep the amounts I do read to a bare minimum because I never want it to end. This collection of letterscaptures so many sides of Buk: his business side, his harsh side; but alsoa great deal of his sensitive, sad, depressive-but-loving side, that isrefreshing to see in any man, let alone one with such a weathered face. Ijust can't help but Love him. ... Read more

Product Description

another comeback

Customer Reviews (8)

Self-parody for the most part.
Charles Bukowski, Come on In!: New Poems (Ecco, 2006)

The more of Buk's posthumous poetry I read, the more I wonder why anyone buys it. I've long held the hypothesis that he published the best bits while he was still alive (and really, let's face it, Bukowski's pinnacle as a poet came during the sixties and early seventies, after which he spent more time working on, and improving, his prose style), and what was left over was meant solely as a moneymaking scheme; he did, after all, realize that he'd reached that critical mass where the fans would buy anything. He could write something about watching the cat walk across the room, chop it up into one or two-word lines, and people would buy it. Or, for that matter, he could write about writing.

"almost ever since I began writing
decades ago
I have been dogged by
whisperers and gossips
who have proclaimed
daily
weekly
yearly
that
I can't write anymore
that now
I slip
and
fall."
("I have continued regardless")

Every artist runs the risk of becoming a self-parody; it seems that the more influential the artist, the greater the risk, or maybe that's just because we have so many examples of bad imitation of that artist. This is a perfect example of a bad Bukowski imitator...except that it's the man himself.

That said, there are still flashes of brilliance every once in a while, and no matter what else you can say about the guy, one thing Bukowski's poems have always had is the kind of readability that few other poets possess; yeah, readability is nothing in and of itself most of the time (I'm resisting the urge here to call Buk the Dan Brown of poetry), but in a genre as legendarily obtuse as poetry, however undeserved the tag may be, one has to grudgingly admit that readability for its own sake must carry at least some cache. If it gets more people reading poetry, it's got to be worthwhile on some level. ***

Bukowski Reflective
"Welcome to my wormy hell," Charles Bukowski (1920 --1994) invites the reader at the outset of this collection of posthumously published poetry.Bukowski, a writer who became famous for his novels, stories, and poems depicting the raw, down-and-out life left a great deal of unpublished work at his death, and it has continued to appear in several volumes.

"Come on In!" is a mixed collection which includes some good poems. Bukowski explores themes that will be familiar to readers: life at the track, boxing, drinking,his experiences with women, loneliness and the desire to be alone, life on the edge, the love of animals, particularly cats, and the writing of poetry. The collection shows Bukowski's sardonic, wry and laconic humor.

The theme of death pervades this collection as Bukowski, old and ill, shows a full awareness of his own mortality. In addition, Bukowski reflects upon his own success as a writer.In his young days, the subject of most of Bukowski's writing, he lived the life of a drunk in the underclass.Beginning in 1971 when he received a stipend from John Martin of Black Sparrow press to devote himself to writing, Bukowski gradually became commercially successful and wealthy.In the poem "you can't tell a turkey by its feathers", which recounts how Bukowski's father thought he wouldn't amount to anything, Bukowski boasts that "Last year I paid/ $59,000 income/tax."Many of the poems involve Bukowski's sucess and recognition, as he compares his late life with his earlier days.

The poems are unrhymed and unmetered and generally written in short stanzas.Most of them are short, but in some instances Bukowski tells stories in his poems, frequently set out as dialogues or conversations.In this book, the poems are arranged in four broad divisions: "I live near the/slaughterhouse/and am ill/ with thriving"; "she looked at me and asked/did you?/did you/did you?"; "it's a lonely world/of frightened people"; "I will never have' a house in the valley/ with little stone men/ on the lawn".

The poems I enjoyed in the collection include Bukowski's reflections on his past relationship with women.In "red hot mail" Bukowski contrasts his state as a successful poet with his younger years when women would not look at him.He writes:

"I only wish now some lass had
chanced upon me then
when I so needed her hair blowing in my
face
and her eyes smiling into mine,
when I so needed
that wild music
and that wild female willingness
to be
undone."

Among the many other poems which show Bukowski in a meditative, thoughtful mood are "alone again", "to the ladies no longer here" and "here we go again."Bukowski's poem "a close call" shows all too clearly the fine line that separated sanity and madness in his life.The poem "the nude dancer" consists of an elderly Bukowski's portrayal of an exotic dancer which complements nicely an earlier poem on this theme describing an encounter in Bukowski's youth, "Love poem to a stripper".One of the acclaimed poems in this collection is "the 'Beats'" in which Bukowski contrasts his own writing to that of the beat writers and concludes:

"my opinion remains the
same: writing is done
one person
at a time
one place
at a time

and all the gatherings
of
the
flock
have very little
to do
with
anything."

But I think the best writing in "Come on In!" is in the final section of the book.Bukowski offers meditiations on his own terminal illness and on the meaning of his life which are moving indeed.The poems I enjoyed in this part include"my cats", "two nights before my 72nd birthday", and "closing time" in which Bukowski discusses his love for Beethoven, "this composer/now dead for over 100/years,/ who's younger and wilder/than you are/than I am." Bukowski observes that "the centuries are sprinkled/with rare magic/with divine creatures/who help us get past the common/ and/extraordinary ills/ that beset us."

The final poem in the book "mind and heart" is a valedictory poem as Bukowski faces death."Unaccountably we are alone/forever alone/ and it was meant to be/that way", he begins. He reflects upon his life and finds that he has developed some had-won serenity of "peace of mind and heart."He advises his readers to "read/what I've written/then/forget it/all."And again:

"drink from the well
of your self
and begin
again."

Robin Friedman

After-death released poems
This book of Bukowski's work was released by his wife after he died. Some good stuff in here. its hard to tell if they werent released because he didnt theink them good enough while he was alive or these works were simply ready not for prime-time yet while he was living.

Well, damn, NOW I'm a fan!?!?
I read a few short stories when I was a younger woman and neverconsidered picking up Bukowski again. Twenty years later, and
I hear about the movie coming out, and then I see on the new release shelf of the library this new collection, and then later that night I find myself watching a documentary on Showtime about Bukowski that just totally enraptures me.
With his voice in my head, the next day I head back to the library hoping to still find the book on it's display, and since I am in a suburb of Dallas called Plano, I'm not too shocked to see it awaiting my itchy fingers.

NEVER have I read a book of poems from beginning to end, but I did just that over the next few days.
I can't believe I cheated myself out of Bukowski all these years.
I am a writer, but one of no formal education and I imagine I might have unearthed him earlier had I been ambitious enough to go to college. In any case, I'm basically a Billy Collins poetry lover, and I like my own work and that is generally THAT.
Bukowski is now top of my list for books to buy should I ever actually see a royalty check!

Another stunning collection...
I've become a real fan of Bukowski's work over the past four years, and read everything I can get my hands on. So far my favorite of all has been "Betting On The Muse", but this one is a very close second. Sure he's vulgar and rough, and it's poetry with images and language not for the weakhearted. But he still manages to deliver these lines within his world that just stun you. A definite must-read if you're a fan. ... Read more

Product Description
Book description to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

So much beauty in such a slim volume
Published the year I was born, this is the first book of Buk poetry I bought (first of many) and it will always have a special place in my heart as a result. Buk was one of the pivotal authors for me, the big guys who kicked my head in and changed the way I looked at the world. Beginning with the amazing title (boy, does he ever have the best titles) The Days Run Away... is packed with great lines, images, wry smiles and many, many classic Buk moments... after having read practically everything he wrote up to his death(still haven't looked at his posthumous stuff) The Days Run Away still stands up. If you think poetry is strictly for college profs and eng lit types, pick up a copy of this and prepare to be blown away.

Bukowski's first published work, and it shows
I have read four or five Bukowski novels, and I absolutely loved them. So naturally I was really looking forward to this book. However, from reading this book, it really showed that this was his first novel. Its not bad, its just that his other poetry books read a lot differently, and those are the ones I loved.

Great Grounding In Bukowski
One poem here, "No Grounding In The Classics," makes it worth the price of admission all on its own. Puts genius in the proper perspective in the funniest, most searing, self-deflating few lines I've ever read.Among the ten best little narratives the man ever wrote.

This is his best book of poetry.
I believe this is the best poetry book written by Buk. Mabye the best of all his books. But the special thing about his work, is that you can't really seperate the books, but need to see them all as one-lifes-work! There are bad poens, and bad stories, and uninteresting ones, but there are so much good stuff too! And the novels allso arent allways perfect, sole works ... they glide in to the big picture. read the first 1/3 of post-office ... some of the stories in "south of no north, read poetry books like this one + "Play the piano..." "Mockingbird..." "Last night of the earth poems" and when you have finished, just keep reading all the rest as well! (Book no. 7 should be "Ham on rye")

My first experience with Bukowski
This is actually a collection originally published in 1969. Bukowski is a great writer simply because he can relate the humorous and the tragic with the same skill. sometimes in the same poem. sit around on a warm afternoon and read these out loud with your friends. you won't feel lame for laughing. ... Read more

Product Description
A former postman and long-term alcoholic who did not become a full-time writer until middle age, Charles Bukowski was the author of autobiographical novels that captured the low life--including Post Office, Factotum, and Women--and made him a literary celebrity, with a major Hollywood film (Barfly) based on his life. Drawing on new interviews with virtually all of Bukowski's friends, family, and many lovers; unprecedented access to his private letters and unpublished writing; and commentary from Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, R. Crumb, and Harry Dean Stanton, Howard Sounes has uncovered the extraordinary true story of the Dirty Old Man of American literature. Illustrated with drawings by Bukowski and over sixty photographs, Charles Bukowski is a must for Bukowski devotees and new readers alike. As the Los Angeles Times noted, "Bukowski is one of those writers people remember more for the legend than for the work . . . but, as Howard Sounes shows in this exhaustively researched biography, it wasn't the whole story." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

"Dear Mrs. Crosby, I don't know who I am.Yours sincerely, Charles Bukowski"
So wrote Bukowski to the editor of Black Sun Press in response to her request for a short autobiographical sketch (p. 25).Although written in 1946, when Bukowsky was in his mid-20s, and at least partly intended to be tongue-in-cheek, it seems an appropriate lifelong epithet.

Bukowski the author and Bukowski the man seem never to have quite figured out who they were.Warped by an abusive father, a passive mother, and a disfiguring case of acne vulgaris that only deepened his adolescent alienation, unable to relate to women, a drunkard who seemed hellbent on self-destruction, and a sometimes violent man who insisted on keeping almost everyone at an emotional distance, Bukowski clearly had deeppsychological conflicts that cry out for examination.But while he wrote obsessively about the facts of his life, he was remarkably obtuse in reflecting on their significance.Except for Ham on Rye, his prose works display little self-scrutiny.His poetry is a bit more reflective, but not by much.

Enter Howard Sounes' biography, Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life.Anyone picking it up in the hopes of discovering who Bukowski is will be disappointed.For the most part, Sounes follows the storyline chronicled in Bukowski's autobiographical fiction, contenting himself with correcting minor falsehoods and omissions, and substituting real names for the contrived ones Bukowski used in his novels.But as with Bukowski's own work, the reader is confronted with little except the bare-boned facts.There's almost no effort on Sounes' part to get beneath the external data to discern the psychological character of his subject.At the end of the day, we know no more about Bukowski than he himself claimed to know in his note to Mrs. Crosby.

The unfortunate consequence is that readers are likely to close Sounes' biography with a distinctly bad taste in their mouths for Bukowsky.Sounes doesn't sugar-coat his presentation of Bukowsky's demons:his mean-spiritedness and vindictiveness (p. 88), his betrayal of benefactors and emotional rape of their women (pp. 136-39), his pedophiliac fantasies (p. 148), and his cruelty (pp. 175, 192-195).This sort of behavior cries out for some analysis on the part of a biographer.But Sounes' is satisfied with the lame pseudo-explanation that Bukowsky's lifestyle personifies a "philosophy of non-participation" (p. 221), whatever that means.

Ultimately, then, Sounes' Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life doesn't answer the question of who Charles Bukowski is.If anything, it only underscores the puzzle.

Engaging account of a fascinating man....
I first discovered the work of Charles Bukowski approximately five years ago, and I was immediately impressed.The more I read the more I enjoyed.I had heard all the legendary tales, the horror stories and the millions of tales of drunken mania, but I purposely stayed away from reading anything ABOUT the man.I didn't want to be disappointed when the reality is often times a far cry from the truth.
Eventually I broke down and bought this book, simply because the countless stories of his life were really becoming too much, and I wanted to know a little more about the man.If at all possible, from an independent observer who was not a Bukowski crony.I think this book accomplishes the task of being a reasonably detached look at the life of a complicated individual, with a few complaints.
First, the author obviously fell in love with Bukowski during this book (or perhaps before he even wrote it), and it shows constantly.There are admitted mistakes in his life, but the real warts are brushed over rather quickly.
Second, the book felt rushed.I think the book would have been much better if the author took his time and wrote a comprehensive 500-700 page book, which he obviously could have done.There are more than enough things to write about.Whole accounts of his womanizing and his time with the LA Free Press are just glanced over.I think it cheated the reader
Lastly, the author quickly passes over the interpersonal relationships Bukowski formed and spoke almost exclusively of events.Events don't tell us the whole story, and what he did write about the relationships was shallow at best.Linda King was the only one who had any depth added.The lack of interpersonal discussions really failed to bring out the third dimension in this book, and it fell a little flat.
The good thing for the author is that he writes well, and thankfully, Charles Bukowski is an interesting subject.I find it hard to believe anyone could really make his life boring.So the book is worth reading, especially if you are like me and don't know much about the man, but if you do I think the reader might find this a bit overly simplistic.

If I could have I would have rated this a 3.5 star book.Because I like Bukowski's work, I will round up.I am huge fan of biographies and this just isn't one of the better ones.

kept my head from the noose
a year ago i was out on my duff out of my house and out of my mind. bukowski's life and his survival and moxie kept me alive just reading it...just this book. then i went to the library picked up some of his poems and hung on...his poems do that. thanks buk

Definitive bio -- will be hard to top
If you're a Bukowski fanatic, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Howard Sounes is a dispassionate professional; the bare Bukowski will disappoint you at times, but the whole story will also enlighten and entertain.

There have been several biographies of Bukowski: one was mediocre; one was a swerving, stream-of-consciousness rave (or a soliloquy-cry for help) written by one of Buk's old cronies; and two were sloppy, thumbnail treatments of The Man.

I doubt anyone will write a better-researched, more thorough bio of Bukowski. Sounes is a Brit, and an American biographer could possibly add a dimension, an insight or flavor that may be missing from this book. But that's quibbling.

Right now - and maybe forever - this is THE story of Charles Bukowski, the writer and THE MAN.

Fun for fans of Bukowski
I finished this book in two days.As a Bukowski fan I enjoyed learning about the people he wrote about.Still, I thought to myself, was Bukowski writing about those people so truthfully or was Sounes filling in the blanks and putting the cart before the horse in his non-fiction.I very much enjoyed it but had to give it a four because the biographer kept saying that Bukowski was in a stage of his life where he was producing the best poems ever.Seemed to be that the author was telling us this time and time again in all stages of the life of Mr. Bukowski.I could never tell what his opinion was about the best poetry done by C.B. ... Read more

Product Description

This second posthumous collection from Charles Bukowski takes readers deep into the raw, wild vein of writing that extends from the early 70s to the 1990s.

Customer Reviews (20)

charles my hero
What could I ever say bad about my hero? He makes me laugh and he has not failed me in all the books I have bought. He can make fun about things most people don't find funny. So if you are a prude you probably won't like him. But if you like Tom Waits and George Carlin you will probably love him.

A good if not perfect crossection of Charles Bukowskis poetry
This book could be a very good introduction for someone who is interested in Bukowski's poetry. Bukowski paints vivid, sad and pathetic caricatures of life and people. He has a powerful ability to move the reader into his frame of reference and to love the seamingly grotesque, and to help the reader feel if only for a moment the authors isolation and creative fire. I personally like bukowski's poetry, I have 6 other poetry books by Bukowski the only one I might recommend ahead of this one would be, love is like a dog from hell. This contains poems that can be read hundreds of times and still feel intense. It closes with, Roll The Dice which does more to me in 44 short broken lines than most other writers can accomplish in a novel and most other poets can't match in a lifetime of work. His work is seen by some as offensive, crude and simplistic, yet hundreds of thousands are touched by his work, and he has spawned an endless number of stylistic offshoots some horrbile some inspired.I read this alone at night when I should be getting sleep and I am usually glad I passed on the sleep.. I put Charles Bukowski in my top 5 all time favorite poets any day. Where is my generations Chinaski are they all going or gone???

It Wasn't Published Until he was Dead for a Reason
I have read about 10 of Bukowski's books, and have enjoyed most of them.To read this one you'll have to lower your expectations.For me it happened as I read Blue Beads and Bones, thinking, now this is a good one.It's not.But after reading enough crap you being to think so.

Please read this only out of morbid curiosity, or as a study on successful marketing, because John Martin, the owner of Black Sparrow Press is ceratinly making a killing off of the Bukowski books pubished since the author's death in 1994.

Consistent Quality Even After Death
Here is another collection of Bukowski poems posthumously released and what else can be said that hasn't been said before. If you have read any of his poetry in the past and you are a fan, here you go folks; more edgey, off beat, colorful stories told in Bukowski's unique poetry rhetoric. The title of this book sums up what I believe to be the most important aspect of Bukowski's message.Let no bar napkin be left unread, Chuckhas still got it, even after death.

Not his best stuff, but still worth reading.
Charles Bukowski, What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire (Black Sparrow, 1999)

With the exception of The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship, the posthumously published Bukowski material just doesn't live up to the stuff he published while he was still alive; cynical readers will likely say he made his reputation while alive, then left the leftovers to be published afterwards. Be that as it may, that's not to say the posthumous stuff isn't worth reading. Bukowski hit his stride as a poet in the mid-fifties, and snatches of greatness continued up through the late seventies/early eighties with regularity; much of the material here was written during the latter half of that time period, and, as expected, flashes of brilliance show through. Flashes, however, are not likely to sustain a reader coming to Bukowski for the first time over the course of four hundred nine pages of poetry; the neophyte would be well advised to turn to Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame or War All the Time for a first crack at the man who made it all look so easy. What Matters Most... is best left for after you're an established Buk fan and know how to separate the what from the chaff. This is about half and half, but remember, chaff is a whole lot lighter, and so you can pack more of it in, pound for pound. ** ½ ... Read more

Product Description
Book description to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Screamstream.
This truly is a great book, a must for Bukowski fans and a book to which I have found myself returning many times over the years. It starts off very sedate in the 60s, with a meek Bukowski writing well-mannered letters to people from small presses, but he gathers in steam and anger as the book goes along until by halfway through he is writing endless drunken stream-of-consciousness scream-of-semiconsciousness ramblerants to all and sundry, using his typewriter as a machinegun to fire syllabic bullets and howl from his cage and keep a small part of himself alive.

The uncensored inebriated letters he composes are brilliant, funny and poignant and erudite and poetic and stupid and depressing in turns, and he unfailingly tells the truth, no matter what the subject under discussion. His prized loner status is somewhat undermined by the sheer volume of mail he sends, a deeply shy man for whom correspondence is obviously extremely important, his way of communicating with the world and staying relatively sane. But his letters are never aloof or self-conscious, pouring out of the man without being labored over or pretentious.

Seeing reproductions of his artistic letters, full of spelling errors and covered in doodlings of his, is illuminating too. What ultimately comes out of this excellent volume, and the two following it, Living On Luck and Reach For The Sun, is a portrait of a man who simply HAS to write or he will explode. He veers close to suicide in places, as evidenced in grim letters to Sherri Martinelli (avolume of letters to her, Beerspit Night And Cursing, has also been published, and displays a cultured side of Bukowski rarely shown to male correspondents) but by the end of the volume he has quit the post office and is ready to take on the wordwork world. And the rest is history. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anybody. The End.

Amazing...
I didn't think I'd find another Buk. I liked as much as 'Notes' & 'Love is a Dog', but the unadulterated, excerpted rants in this volume give such a great view, that's just THAT much more pure than his 'fiction'.It's awesome to see story ideas & themes from his other books coming forward in his mind as his friends & colleagues encourage him to write novels.This is the first book of Buk. letters I've gotten, so I can't offer comparisions, but I'll definitely be getting more.Love it.

The Sheri Martinelli Years
Bukowski's letters of the 1960s are filled with the passion and energy of the time.It was an age of rebellion and recklessness, and in this period Bukowski's own writing really came of age; you can feel the confidence growing in page after page.His friends were legion, and so many of them seemed to have kept his letters you sense that even then, they knew they were holding on to something special, even if mass fame wouldn't come to CB for another decade or more.

During the time Bukowski was also writing numerous letters to the Beat poet Sheri Martinelli, who had also been the long distance muse to Ezra Pound when he was locked away safely in St Elizabeth's in Washington DC.Both sides of their correspondence have been published and are worth looking into, because how often are we privy to the intimate exchanges of a pair of genius minds?

jarring
Will jar the senses. Nothing cute here. The author, Bukowski, barely holding on by his fingertips (before he started to make any money with his literary eforts.) Highly recommend it to anyone who preffers the real to the slickly put together phony books out there by so-called writers being published by the bloated, greedy East Coast houses who don't know what the hell they're doing. Why so harsh? Because I don't see any originality in books put out by them, that's why. How can that be? Ask them. In their desperate, stupid efforts to make every book a sure-fire best-seller they put editors on it who beat all originality right out of these manuscripts. Thus, usually, we are left with unreadable garbage lacking real style and/or originality. And Bukowski? Well, the reason Black sparrow took him on is because his writing was not about that phony slickness that so often New York publishers seem to want and pay the big bucks for (only to fall on their butts--more often than not). Bukowski's style brings to mind another writer or two: Kirk Alex (Working the Hard Side of the Street), Dan Fante: Mooch, Spitting off Tall Buildings, etc. Buy it, read it, and find out what life was like for the man who brought you Post Office, Hollywood, and other masterpieces before the well-earned rocognition towards the latter part of his life. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his books are. For that we are grateful. Our hat is off to John Martin at Black Sparrow. Thank you, sir, for publishing the books.

Unique Insight
This edition of Bukowski's letters is indespensable to Bukowski scholars and would be of great interest to anyone who wants to look deeper into the mind of the late writer.The greatest insight one derives from readingthese letters is that Bukowski and Chinaski--his literary persona and, tosome extent, alter-ego--are not identical.Bukowski, by the 1980s,increasingly relied upon the character Henry Chinaski--who pops up inpoems, stories, novels, and the screenplay Barfly.Moreover, his workbecame, during this period, increasingly based on his "real"life.Thus, it can be difficult to ascertain where the real Bukowskileaves off and the fictive Chinaski begins.Well, the letters help toclarify this distinction.Whereas Chinaski is a tough guy who cravessolitude and forsakes the company of artists, it seems that Bukowskicorresponded regularly with a series of fellow writers, often whining aboutmoney and literary respect. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (10)

a gulp of fresh air
Charles Bukowski works the form like a tangible material. Like a talented carpenter, he crafts his short story, first looking at it from inside, checking it for truth, realism and message and then he writes it and when you read it, every word fits in like a well-set mortise joint, crafted well, true, real.
Amidst incessantly cheap, dumb, stupid and shallow slew of publications this recent short story compilation by Charles Bukowski shows that there is always a true direction in life. Always was. Always is, and when you want, you will find it and will keep on following it, without living like a dull fish swallowing dry crap, fashioned like an edible meal, thrown by the society in the human fish tank.

Pure Bukowski
Just more great work from one of the most under appreciated literary minds ever. This book contains examples of all his written art, save novel. Poetry, short story, and brilliant essay type letter writing. If you like Henry Chinaski you will enjoy this book.

Blood, Wine, and Tears
The best thing about reading Bukowski is that one not only reads him, but FEELS him as well; every bottle of booze, every fruitless minute, every departing woman tramples across the psyche. In the new Bukowski collection, "Portions From a Wine-Stained Notebook," we are handed fragments that make up a good deal of the Bukowski cannon: from his first published short story, to selections from "Notes of a Dirty Old Man," to bits of literary and aesthetic criticism, this collection provides more insight to the events that shaped the, shall we say, "Bukowskian Philosophy." Many of the writings have never been collected or published before, so editor David Stephen Calonne has done us a terrific favor.
The seasoned Bukowski reader will get more of the long and drunken nights, tail-chasing, and nihilism we have all come to expect from his work (along with some odds and ends). I could also recommend this book as a starting point for people who wish to be thrust into Bukowski's world. Either way, several works in this book explain why Bukowski wrote the way he did and why he did, and both the novice and veteran will benefit from them.
Frankly, there is not one work in here that I like above them all. All are Bukowski, and all are good in their own ways. I can only recommend reading the book from beginning to end, unless a title seems to strike ones fancy; regardless, one can start where ever they like.
The publication of this book only attests to the immortality of Bukowski. Love him or hate him, he is here to stay.

Great Book
Had already read the book, so knew what I was getting, and ordered 2 extra copies for friends. Got here quickly, in great condition and at a very good price. Will probably reread the book at least once a year for a while,and am looking to read more Bukowski as well. One of my friends sent me a DVD called "Born into This", a film about Bukowski, which I think is available on Amazon and also is very good.

Laughs, Curses, Broken Bottles
Anything newly published by Hank comes close to reading rapture, especially something like this which contains his prose. The only reason this didn't get five stars is some of the stories are redundant and some were, well, just not...representative of Hank's better writing. Nonetheless, there were some laughs, some curses, some broken bottles, and the best tale was by far his recount of meeting his idol, John Fante. ... Read more

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Bohemia Explained
I just finished rereading Women two days ago and rebreezed through Factotum today. Between the two it's hard to say which one I enjoy more. The one thing for certain is that Factotum is a not-so-guilty pleasure. For L7 square types like me, it's fun to careen through Bohemia atop the words of Bukowski. He may not be the world's greatest writer, but his works are consistently a good time and incredibly engaging. These joyous and tragic remembrances of his time coming up are a wonderful diversion from daily life--especially for those of us too cowardly to live in harmony with our convictions. Concerning the film adaptation, which included scenes from three short stories as well, I think Matt Dillon did an excellent job. I realize some folks didn't like him as Buk but I thought he pulled off the role exquisitely. In my view, a great book and a ton of fun. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

AVOID
I love Buk, but honestly, the story is 6 pages long, theres a few pages of cartoons, & NONE of it is funny.

This is worth buying because of the people involved.
There's No Business is about a stand-up comedian whose losing his touch. In typical Bukowski fashion the main character is someone you feel sympathy for even though they have no one to blame but themselves for theirmisfortune. This is worth buying because Bukowski and Crumb are masters ofwhat they do and anything they team up on is instantly a classic. ... Read more

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The Well Has Not Run Dry!
It's been 16 years since the death of Charles Bukowski. I've lost count (and am too lazy to look it up) of just how many posthumous books this makes, but I bought this one with more skepticism than any other (why no Hardcover edition, for instance?).After all, the well has to run dry eventually... right?Well not yet, thankfully and this collection is superior in many ways.

Having read Bukowski books for 20+ years now, but never having the budget to collect all the $25 dollar magazines where some of this material can be found, I'm grateful that City Lights is finally making this material available.Some of the stories here are great and the Notes of a Dirty Old Man excerpts are classic as always.I have a new favorite story (I Just Write Poetry So I Can Go To Bed With Girls) from 1971 and unbelievably never collected until now.It's the classic Buk Scenario where he beds a girl after a poetry reading and spends the night.The kicker and the best part of the story involves her children (and you'll just have to buy the book and read it for yourself), It's a perfect summation of Bukowski's personality.

There's plenty more, including his first published short stories which are quite different than his later material. In some ways I'mgrateful he did not achieve early success.It's clear he would have been a different writer, but it's impossible to say whether he would have been a better one.Perhaps early success would have spoiled him and the raw, biographical material that hs is known for would have never been written?

It's impossible to know, but what is possible is to proclaim that the well has not run dry and Bukowski fans should gobble this up and encourage City Lights to keep them coming.As to old fans versus new, I think I would recommend this as a good place to start.It's a wide variety of Bukowski's favorite targets and a general sense of the man really comes through.Of course long time fans will get it in other ways, but Bukowski is a "love him or hate him writer".You know it instantly whether your first Buk is "Women" or "Notes of a Dirty Old Man".He speaks to your soul or not.Absence of the Hero certainly spoke to mine.

An absolute must for fans of Charles Bukowski's work
Absence of the Hero: Uncollected Stories and Essays, Volume 2 1946-1992 is a compendium of miscellaneous works by prolific and popular author Charles Bukowski. Many of the essays and stories within were previously uncollected, or even unpublished; they range from "Absence of the Hero", a countercultural examination of contentions during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s; chuckle-inducing installments of Bukowski's newspaper column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man"; Bukowski's own "Manifesto"; his evaluations of the writings of colleagues such as Allen Ginsberg, Robert Creeley, LeRoi Jones, and more; as well as a medley of wry, suspenseful, or surprising short tales. An absolute must for fans of Charles Bukowski's work, Absence of the Hero is also a welcome addition to public and college library literary studies shelves.

GOOD UNCOLLECTED STORIES AND ESSAYS SPANNING ALMOST HALF A CENTURY
Trade size soft cover edition.Two pages of acknowledgments.Fifteen page introduction,including notes.272 pages of writings.Also there's a source page,which is helpful in placing the various writings,in chronological order.

This is the second volume of uncollected writings published by City Lights Books.Like the first,this volume has a number of writings that were in limited circulation many years ago,along with unpublished pieces.The themes are typical Bukowski-love/depraved love,drinking,women,gambling,literature/authors,and Bukowski's sometimes wry observations of people,events,or himself (the piece"80 Airplanes Don't Put You in the Clear" is the first place that Bukowski refers to the narrator as "Hank").And there are several other pieces that use his literary alter-ego,using variations of his given name throughout the book.

These pieces begin in the mid 1940's and conclude in early 1992.From early magazine fiction in the 40's ("Love,Love,Love"),to the 50's decade ("The Rapist's Story"),through the turbulent 60's ("Peace Baby Is Hard To Sell"),the 70's ("Notes of a Dirty Old Man" series)into the 80's ("The Ladies Man of East Hollywood"),and finally the 90's ("Playing and Being the Poet"),these works are prime Bukowski.The majority of pieces are from the 70's,with three pieces from the 40's,and only one piece from the 90's.

This book is a good addition for long time readers of Bukowski,because it fills in areas not to well known to most readers.For someone just beginning to read Bukowski's work,this would be okay,but his short stories (there are a number of good collections,any of which would be a good introduction),or poems (any of the many volumes,for the themes are similar in many of his poems) would perhaps be a better starting point,and then progress into his novels ("Post Office" perhaps),for a good foundation to his work.But this book makes for interesting,if not sometimes amusing,and startling reading-which is what makes Charles Bukowski unique among authors-praise that he would no doubt laugh at. ... Read more

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Fifteen pages of story and illustrations.

Customer Reviews (6)

not too big on his short stories or fiction
his fiction/short stories seem to run together and are a bit depressing to read and not in a good sense either.his poetry has such a different careless feel to it.but still a good read as far as writing goes so check it out.

Good but expensive
I liked it, its a very good Bukowsky type of story, however its juts like 5 pages long, and its way to expensive, and if u add postage, wow i payed way too much for 1 story! i wish i would have seen it at a library i would have just read it there in 5 minutes....

cool Buk novelty item
Bring Me Your Love is a 1983 short story by Charles Bukowski.The story itself is above average for Buk and far superior to There's No Business, which is offered by Black Sparrow Press in this same format.The R. Crumb art is very compatible with the tale.It's the story of a man visiting hiswife in a mental institution and the conversations that follow.TypicalBukowski subject matter...madhouses, women, sex, booze & not much hopeat all.If your shelves are already filled with the real Buk books, Iwould definitely recommend adding this to your collection.Keep in mind,we are talking about a fifteen page book here!There's not much tohold,hence the great price.

Good story with good art
If you like Bukowski, or Crumb, you gotta have this.The story is a typical Bukowski oddball love story, and the illustraions are like Crumb can see the mental pictures you get reading it.A great price too.I sawthis one on e-bay going for like 15 bucks, people don't shop around Iguess.

Love Bukowski?Add this to your collection!
This short story is illustrated by R. Crumb.If you like this one, check out "There's no business like showbusiness" , which is also illustrated by the R. Crumb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Bukowski - a legend.
Charles Bukowski is an inspiration and this tome is surely amongst his greatest works.Poems to tear your soul apart... ... Read more