Charles Bukowski

"Bukowski" redirects here. For other uses, seeBukowski (disambiguation).

Henry Charles Bukowski(/buːˈkaʊski/boo-KOW-skee;bornHeinrich Karl Bukowski,German:[ˈhaɪnʁɪçˈkaʁlbuˈkɔfski];August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted home city of Los Angeles.Bukowski's work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. TheFBIkept a file on him as a result of his columnNotes of a Dirty Old Manin the LA underground newspaperOpen City.

Charles Bukowski
Born	Heinrich Karl Bukowski (1920-08-16)August 16, 1920 Andernach,Prussia, Germany
Died	March 9, 1994(1994-03-09)(aged 73) Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Nationality	German American
Occupations	Poet novelist short story writer columnist
Movement	Dirty realism,transgressive fiction
Spouses	Barbara Frye ​ ​ (m.1957;div.1959)​ Linda Lee Beighle ​ (m.1985)​
Children	1

Bukowski published extensively in small literary magazines and with small presses beginning in the early 1940s and continuing on through the early 1990s. He wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over sixty books during the course of his career. Some of these works include hisPoems Written Before Jumping Out of an 8 Story Window,published by his friend and fellow poetCharles Potts,and better-known works such asBurning in Water, Drowning in Flame.These poems and stories were later republished byJohn Martin'sBlack Sparrow Press(nowHarperCollins/Ecco Press) as collected volumes of his work. As noted by one reviewer, "Bukowski continued to be, thanks to his antics and deliberate clownish performances, the king of the underground and the epitome of the littles in the ensuing decades, stressing his loyalty to those small press editors who had first championed his work and consolidating his presence in new ventures such as theNew York Quarterly,Chiron Review,orSlipstream."

In 1986,Timecalled Bukowski a "laureateof American lowlife ".Regarding his enduring popular appeal,Adam KirschofThe New Yorkerwrote, "the secret of Bukowski's appeal... [is that] he combines the confessional poet's promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of apulp-fictionhero. "

During his lifetime, Bukowski received little attention from academic critics in the United States, but was better received in Europe, particularly the UK, and especially Germany, where he was born. Since his death in March 1994, Bukowski has been the subject of a number of critical articles and books about both his life and writings.

Biography

Family and early years

Bukowski's birthplace at Aktienstrasse,Andernach

Charles Bukowski was born Heinrich Karl Bukowski inAndernach,Prussia,Weimar Germany.His father was Heinrich (Henry) Bukowski, an American of German descent who had served in theU.S. army of occupationafterWorld War Iand had remained in Germany after his army service. His mother was Katharina (née Fett). His paternal grandfather, Leonard Bukowski, had moved to the United States fromImperial Germanyin the 1880s. InCleveland, Ohio,Leonard met Emilie Krause, an ethnic German, who had emigrated fromDanzig(nowGdańsk,Poland). They married and settled inPasadena, California,where Leonard worked as a successful carpenter. The couple had four children, including Heinrich (Henry), Charles Bukowski's father.His mother, Katharina Bukowski, was the daughter of Wilhelm Fett and Nannette Israel.The nameIsraelis widespread among Catholics in theEifelregion.Bukowski assumed his paternal ancestor had moved from Poland to Germany around 1780, as "Bukowski" is a Polish last name. As far back as Bukowski could trace, his whole family was German.

Bukowski's parents met in Andernach following World War I. His father was German-American and a sergeant in theUnited States Armyserving in Germany after the empire's defeat in 1918.He had an affair with Katharina, a German friend's sister, and she subsequently became pregnant. Bukowski repeatedly claimed to beborn out of wedlock,but Andernach marital records indicate that his parents married one month before his birth.Afterwards, Bukowski's father became a building contractor, set to make great financial gains in the aftermath of the war, and after two years moved the family to Pfaffendorf (today part ofKoblenz). However, given thecrippling postwar reparationsbeing required of Germany, which led to a stagnant economy and high levels of inflation, he was unable to make a living and decided to move the family to the U.S. On April 18, 1923, they sailed fromBremerhaventoBaltimore, Maryland,where they settled.

His family moved toMid-City,Los Angeles,in 1930.Bukowski's father was often unemployed. In the autobiographicalHam on Rye,Bukowski says that, with his mother'sacquiescence,his father was frequentlyabusive,both physically and mentally, beating his son for the smallest imagined offense.He later told an interviewer that his father beat him with arazor stropthree times a week from the ages of six to 11 years. He says that it helped his writing, as he came to understand undeserved pain.

Young Bukowski spoke English with a strong German accent and was taunted by his childhood playmates with the epithet "Heini," German diminutive of Heinrich, in his early youth. He was shy and socially withdrawn, a condition exacerbated during his teen years by an extreme case ofacne.Neighborhood children ridiculed his accent and the clothing his parents made him wear. TheGreat Depressionbolstered his rage as he grew, and gave him much of his voice and material for his writings.

In his early teen years, Bukowski had an epiphany when he was introduced to alcohol by his friend William "Baldy" Mullinax, depicted as "Eli LaCrosse" inHam on Rye,son of an alcoholic surgeon. "This [alcohol] is going to help me for a very long time," he later wrote, describing a method (drinking) he could use to come to more amicable terms with his own life.Bukowski attendedSusan Miller Dorsey High Schoolfor one year before transferring toLos Angeles High School.After graduating from high school in 1939, Bukowski attendedLos Angeles City Collegefor two years, taking courses in art, journalism, and literature, before quitting at the start ofWorld War II.He then moved to New York City to begin a career as a financially pinched blue-collar worker with hopes of becoming a writer.

On July 22, 1944, with the war ongoing, Bukowski was arrested byFBIagents inPhiladelphia,where he lived at the time, on suspicion ofdraft evasion.At a time when the U.S. was at war withNazi Germany,and many Germans and German-Americans on the home front were suspected of disloyalty, Bukowski's German birth troubled the authorities. He was held for seventeen days in Philadelphia'sMoyamensing Prison.Sixteen days later, he failed a psychological examination that was part of his mandatory military entrance physical test and was given aSelective ServiceClassification of4-F(unfit for military service).

Early writing

When Bukowski was aged 23 (March-April 1944), his short story "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip" was published inStorymagazine.Two years later, another short story, "20 Tanks from Kasseldown", was published by theBlack Sun Pressin Issue III ofPortfolio: An Intercontinental Quarterly,a limited-run, loose-leafbroadsidecollection printed in 1946 and edited byCaresse Crosby.Failing to break into the literary world, Bukowski grew disillusioned with the publication process and quit writing for almost a decade, a time that he referred to as a "ten-year drunk". These "lost years" formed the basis for his later semiautobiographical chronicles, and there are fictionalized versions of Bukowski's life through his highly stylized alter-ego, Henry Chinaski.However, Bukowski never fully gave up writing and had occasional pieces published during this period. The “ten-year drunk” was part of the Chinaski Legend, similar toJack Kerouac’s Duluoz Legend.

During part of this period he continued living in Los Angeles, working at a pickle factory for a short time but also spending some time roaming about the U.S., working sporadically and staying in cheaprooming houses.In the early 1950s, he took a job as a fill-inletter carrierwith theUnited States Post Office Departmentin Los Angeles, but resigned just before he reached three years' service.

In the spring of 1954, Bukowski was treated for a near-fatal bleedingulcer.After leaving the hospital he began to write poetry.The next year he agreed to marry small-town Texas poet Barbara Frye, but they divorced in 1958. According toHoward Sounes'sCharles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life,she later died under mysterious circumstances in India. Following his divorce, Bukowski resumed drinking and continued writing poetry.

Several of Bukowski's poems were published in the late 1950s inGallows,a small poetry magazine published briefly (the magazine lasted for two issues) by Jon Griffith.The smallavant-gardeliterary magazineNomad,published byAnthony Linickand Donald Factor (the son ofMax Factor Jr.), offered a home to Bukowski's early work.Nomad's inaugural issue in 1959 featured two of his poems. A year later,Nomadpublished one of Bukowski's best-known essays,Manifesto: A Call for Our Own Critics.

1960s

By 1960, Bukowski had returned to the post office in Los Angeles and began work as a letter filing clerk, a position he held for more than a decade. In 1962, he was distraught over the death of Jane Cooney Baker, his first serious girlfriend. Bukowski turned his inner devastation into a series of poems and stories lamenting her death.

5124 DeLongpre Avenue, Los Angeles, now Bukowski Court, where Bukowski resided from 1963 to 1972

E.V. Griffith, editor of Hearse Press, published Bukowski's first separately printed publication, a broadside titled "His Wife, the Painter," in June 1960. This event was followed by Hearse Press's publication of "Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail," Bukowski's firstchapbookof poems, in October 1960. "His Wife, the Painter" and three other broadsides ( "The Paper on the Floor", "The Old Man on the Corner" and "Waste Basket" ) formed the centerpiece of Hearse Press's "Coffin 1", an innovative small-poetry publication consisting of a pocketed folder containing forty-two broadsides andlithographswhich was published in 1964. Hearse Press continued to publish poems by Bukowski through the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.

Jon and Louise Webb, publishers of the literary magazineThe Outsider,featured some of Bukowski's poetry in its pages. Under the Loujon Press imprint, the Webbs published Bukowski'sIt Catches My Heart in Its Handsin 1963 andCrucifix in a Deathhandin 1965.

In 1964 a daughter, Marina Louise Bukowski, was born to Bukowski and his live-in girlfriendFrances Smith.She would be his only child.

Beginning in 1967, Bukowski wrote the columnNotes of a Dirty Old Manfor Los Angeles'Open City,an underground newspaper. WhenOpen Citywas shut down in 1969, the column was picked up by theLos Angeles Free Pressas well as the hippie underground paperNOLA ExpressinNew Orleans.In 1969, Bukowski andNeeli Cherkovskilaunched their own short-livedmimeographedliterary magazine,Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns.They produced three issues over the next two years.

Black Sparrow years

In 1969, Bukowski accepted an offer fromBlack Sparrow PresspublisherJohn Martinand quit his post office job to dedicate himself to full-time writing. He was then 49 years old. As he explained in a letter at the time, "I have one of two choices – stay in the post office and go crazy... or stay out here and play at writer and starve. I have decided to starve."Less than one month after leaving the postal service he finished his first novel,Post Office.As a measure of respect for Martin's financial support and faith in a relatively unknown writer, Bukowski published almost all of his subsequent major works with Black Sparrow Press, which became a highly successful enterprise. An avid supporter of small independent presses, Bukowski continued to submit poems and short stories to innumerable small publications throughout his career.

Bukowski embarked on a series of love affairs andone-night trysts.One of these relationships was withLinda King,a sculptor and poet. CriticRobert Petersreported seeing Bukowski as an actor in King's playOnly a Tenant,in which she and Bukowski stage-read the first act at the Pasadena Museum of the Artist. This was a one-off performance of what was a shambolic work.Bukowski's other affairs were with a recording executive and a twenty-three-year-old redhead; he wrote a book of poetry as a tribute to his love for the latter, titled, "Scarlet" (Black Sparrow Press, 1976). His various affairs and relationships provided material for his stories and poems. Another important relationship was with "Tanya",pseudonymof "Amber O'Neil" (also a pseudonym), described in Bukowski's "Women" as a pen-pal that evolved into a weekend tryst at Bukowski's residence in Los Angeles in the 1970s. "Amber O'Neil" later self-published a chapbook about the affair entitled "Blowing My Hero".

In 1976, Bukowski met Linda Lee Beighle, a health food restaurant owner, rock-and-roll groupie, aspiring actress, heiress to a small Philadelphia "Main Line" fortune and devotee ofMeher Baba.Two years later he moved from theEast Hollywoodarea, where he had lived for most of his life, to the harborside community ofSan Pedro,the southernmost district of Los Angeles. Beighle followed him and they lived together intermittently over the next two years. They were eventually married byManly Palmer Hall,a Canadian-born author, mystic, and spiritual teacher, in 1985. Beighle is referred to as "Sara" in Bukowski's novelsWomenandHollywood.

In the 1980s, Bukowski collaborated with cartoonistRobert Crumbon a series of comic books, with Bukowski supplying the writing and Crumb providing the artwork. Through the 1990s Crumb also illustrated a number of Bukowski's stories, including the collectionThe Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Shipand the story "Bring Me Your Love".

Bukowski was also published inBeloit Poetry Journal.

Live poetry readings

Bukowski's live readings were legendary, with the drunk raucous crowd fighting with the drunk angry poet. In 1972, Joe Wolberg, who was the manager ofCity Lights Booksin San Francisco, rented a hall and paid Bukowski to read his poems. A vinyl album was released by City Lights, which was re-issued byTakoma Recordsin 1980.

In May 1978, Bukowski traveled toWest Germanyand gave a live poetry reading of his work before an audience inHamburg.This was released as a double 12 "L.P. stereo record titled" CHARLES BUKOWSKI 'Hello. It's good to be back.'"

His last international performance was in October 1979 inVancouver, British Columbia,Canada, and was released on DVD asThere's Gonna Be a God Damn Riot in Here.The reading was produced by fan/friend Dennis Del Torre, who rented a venue, Viking Hall, paid Bukowski and his wife Linda to fly up, hired a video crew, promoted the event, and sold tickets. The crowd and Bukowski were very drunk for the event. A heckler was near the stage and can be heard clearly. Del Torre later went to Bukowski's widow, Linda Bukowski, for permission to license it. He thought it was the last reading Bukowski gave, but Linda told him there was another reading after that in Redondo Beach, CA, in early 1980.

In March 1980 he gave his very last reading at the Sweetwater music venue inRedondo Beach, California,which was released asHostageon vinyl and audio CD, andThe Last Strawon DVD, filmed and produced byJon Mondayfor mondayMEDIA.In 2010 the unedited versions of bothThe Last StrawandRiotwere released asOne Tough Motheron DVD.

Main article:The Last Straw (2008 film)

Death and legacy

Henry Charles Bukowski Jr.'s grave in Green Hills Memorial Park

Bukowski died ofleukemiaon March 9, 1994, in San Pedro, aged 73, shortly after completing his last novel,Pulp.The funeral rites, orchestrated by his widow, were conducted byBuddhistmonks. He is interred at Green Hills Memorial Park inRancho Palos Verdes.An account of the proceedings can be found inGerald Locklin's bookCharles Bukowski: A Sure Bet.His gravestone reads: "Don't Try", a phrase which Bukowski uses in one of his poems, advising aspiring writers and poets about inspiration and creativity. Bukowski explained the phrase in a 1963 letter toJohn William Corrington:"Somebody at one of these places [...] asked me: 'What do you do? How do you write, create?' You don't, I told them. You don't try. That's very important:notto try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It's like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or, if you like its looks, you make a pet out of it. "

Bukowski's work was subject to controversy throughout his career.Hugh Foxclaimed that hissexismin his poetry, at least in part, translated into his life. In 1969, Fox published the first critical study of Bukowski inThe North American Review,and mentioned his attitude toward women: "When women are around, he has to play Man. In a way it's the same kind of 'pose' he plays at in his poetry—Bogart,Eric Von Stroheim.Whenever my wife Lucia would come with me to visit him he'd play the Man role, but one night she couldn't come I got to Buk's place and found a whole different guy—easy to get along with, relaxed, accessible. "

In June 2006, Bukowski's literary archive was donated by his widow to theHuntington LibraryinSan Marino, California.Copies of all editions of his work published by the Black Sparrow Press are held atWestern Michigan University,which purchased the archive of the publishing house after its closure in 2003.

Ecco Presscontinues to release new collections of his poetry, culled from the thousands of works published in small literary magazines. According toEcco Press,the 2007 releaseThe People Look Like Flowers at Lastwill be his finalposthumousrelease, as now all his once-unpublished work has been made available.

Writing

Writers includingJohn Fante,Knut Hamsun,Louis-Ferdinand Céline,Ernest Hemingway,Robinson Jeffers,Henry Miller,D. H. Lawrence,Fyodor Dostoevsky,Du FuLi Bai,andJames Thurberare noted as influences on Bukowski's writing.

Bukowski often spoke of Los Angeles as his favorite subject. In a 1974 interview he said, "You live in a town all your life, and you get to know every bitch on the street corner and half of them you have already messed around with. You've got the layout of the whole land. You have a picture of where you are.... Since I was raised in L.A., I've always had the geographical and spiritual feeling of being here. I've had time to learn this city. I can't see any other place than L.A."

Bukowski also performed live readings of his works, beginning in 1962 on radio stationKPFKin Los Angeles and increasing in frequency through the 1970s. Drinking was often a featured part of the readings, along with a combative banter with the audience.Bukowski could also be generous; for example, after a sold-out show atAmazingrace CoffeehouseinEvanston,Illinois,on November 18, 1975, he signed and illustrated over 100 copies of his poem "Winter," published byNo Mountains Poetry Project.By the late 1970s, Bukowski's income was sufficient to give up live readings.

One critic has described Bukowski's fiction as a "detailed depiction of a certain taboo male fantasy: the uninhibited bachelor, slobby, anti-social, and utterly free", an image he tried to live up to with sometimes riotous public poetry readings and boorish party behavior. A few critics and commentatorsalso supported the idea that Bukowski was acynic,as a man and a writer. Bukowski denied being a cynic, stating: "I've always been accused of being a cynic. I think cynicism is sour grapes. I think cynicism is a weakness."

Poetry editorial controversy

Over half of Bukowski's collections have been published posthumously. Posthumous collections have been known to have been 'John Martinized',with the poems having been highly edited, at a level which was not present during Bukowski's lifetime.One example of a popular poem, "Roll the Dice" (when comparing the original manuscript to "What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire" ), themes such ashellandalcoholismare removed. The creative editing present includes changing lines from "against total rejection and the highest of odds"to "despite rejection and the worst odds".

In popular culture

In music

• In 2006, American artistTom Waitsfeatured a reading of Bukowski's poem "Nirvana" on the album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (disc 3, track 11: "Nirvana" ) (Anti Records, 2006).
• In 2002 English composer and jazz pianist Roland Perrin set six of Bukowski's poems for choir and big band in his work 'songs from the cage' which was commissioned byHertfordshire Chorusand first performed in April 2002
• American bandRed Hot Chili Peppersreference Bukowski and his works in several songs; singerAnthony Kiedishas stated that Bukowski is a big influence on his writing.
• In 1993U2albumZooropaincluded the song 'Dirty Day'. The song repeatedly references the Bukowski poetry collection 'The Days Run Away, Like Wild Horses Over the Hill'. The lyrics also reflect on a troubled father-son relationship, which is a central theme in much of Bukowski's writing
• US heavy metal bandW.A.S.Pin their 1992 album "The Crimson Idol" used one line of Bukowski's poem, "Some People".
• Fall Out Boyreferenced Bukowski's novelPost Officein their unreleased song "Guilty as Charged (Tell Hip-Hop I'm Literate)".
• Arctic Monkeyslead singerAlex Turnermentions Bukowski in the song "She Looks Like Fun", from the albumTranquility Base Hotel & Casino.
• US band311reference Bukowski's alter ego "Hank Chinaski" in the song "Stealing Happy Hours", from the albumTransistor.
• Prior to their live sets, the post-rock bandCaspianplay a recording of Bukowski's poemGo All the Wayas read by Tom O'Bedlam.
• In December 2020, American rock bandChain Sherlockused a sample of a Bukowski interview in their opening track "Soledad" on the albumSouvenir L'Amour L'Hospital Décès.
• British-American rapperMF Doomreferred to Bukowski as inspiration for his songs, featuring a Bukowski poem in one of his songs, "Cellz", off of his 2009 album, of which the title was a reference to Bukowski's poem "Dinosauria, We":Born Like This.
• Modest Mouseincluded a song titled "Bukowski" on their 2004 albumGood News for People Who Love Bad News.
• Harry StylesstoppedOne Directionconcerts to read Bukowski in 2014.He later quoted "Old Man, Dead in a Room" in his song "Woman,"and opened his 2021Love on Tourshows with a quote from "Style".
• Killer Mikementions Bukowski in the song "Walking in the Snow" on the 2020 albumRTJ4,saying he readsNoam Chomskyand Bukowski.
• Mac Millerused an excerpt fromThe Charles Bukowski Tapeson his song "Wedding" from his 2014 mixtapeFaces.
• TheVolcano Choirsong "Alaskans" features a recording of Bukowski reading a poem on French television.
• "Bluebird"is claimed to be the first country song inspired by Charles Bukowski to reach Number 1.
• Hardcore punk rock bandPoison Idea's 1987 albumWar All the Timewas named after Bukowski's eponymous book
• Pop punk bandThe Wonder Yearsmention Bukowski in their song "Woke up Older" on the 2011 albumSuburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing.
• Post-hardcore bandThursday's 2003 albumWar All the Timewas also named after the Bukowski book of the same name.
• The punk bandHot Water Musictook their name from Bukowski's 1983 collection of short stories,Hot Water Music.
• A 2006 musical comedy,Bukowsical!,by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, pokes fun at Bukowski's life and hipster image.
• Bukowski's poem "Let It Enfold You", published inBetting on the Muse: Poems and Stories(1996),influenced the emotional 2004Senses Failsong (and album) of the same name.
• American post-hardcore bandChiodosnamed their second album after one of Bukowski's books of poetry,Bone Palace Ballet.
• U.K. bandMoose Bloodnamed their first EP after him, as well as naming a track, and mentioning his name, throughout their first album,I'll Keep You in Mind, From Time to Time.
• British indie band The Boo Radleys included a track named "Charles Bukowski is dead" on their 1994 albumWake Up!
• Bukowski is compared negatively to authorJohn Berrymanin the 2008 song "We Call Upon the Author" byNick Cave and the Bad Seeds
• PopularCzechrappers Yzomadias and Nik Tendo mention Bukowski in their song "Bukowski" on their 2022 albumKruhy & Vlny
• Czech pop rock bandChinaskitook its name afterHenry Chinaski,the protagonist in Bukowski's novels.
• British indie rock bandRazorlightmention Bukowski in their 2004 song "In The City".
• German indie rock bandSportfreunde Stillermention Bukowski in their song "7 Tage, 7 Nächte".
• The soundtrack for the video game “Alan Wake 2” features a song called “Dark, Twisted, and Cruel” that refers to Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson (as “Raoul Duke” and “Buk” ) and Ernest Hemingway in the opening lines.
• NYC-based artist Riz La Vie references Bukowski's "Love Is a Dog from Hell" in his song "Lace"
• Welsh musicians Owain “Oz” Wright and Dewi Evans released a song about Bukowski in 1996 under the name ‘Rheinallt H.Rowlands’, aptly titled “Bukowski”
• The Chilean rapper Matiah Chinaski is named after Henry Chinaski. Also, Bukowski's way of writing is a huge influence on Matiah's work and style

In film

• In 1981, the Italian directorMarco Ferrerimade a film,Storie di ordinaria follia(akaTales of Ordinary Madness), loosely based on the short stories of Bukowski;Ben Gazzaraplayed the role of Bukowski's character.
• Barfly,released in 1987, is a semi-autobiographical film written by Bukowski and starringMickey RourkeasHenry Chinaski,who represents Bukowski, andFaye Dunawayas his lover Wanda Wilcox.Sean Pennoffered to play Chinaski for one dollar as long as his friendDennis Hopperwould direct,but the European directorBarbet Schroederhad invested many years and thousands of dollars in the project and Bukowski felt Schroeder deserved to make it. Bukowski wrote the screenplay, was given script approval,and appears as a bar patron in a brief cameo.
• Crazy Loveis a 1987 film directed by Belgian directorDominique Deruddere.The film is based on various writings by Bukowski, in particular "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice, California".
• The 1991 French filmLune Froide,directed byPatrick Bouchitey,was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, and is based on the short stories "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice" and "Trouble with the Battery".
• The 2005 filmFactotum,adapted from Bukowski's 1975novel of the same name,was released to mixed reviews.
• In 2013, actorJames Francodirected a film simply titledBukowski,withJosh Peckplaying the writer. Franco wrote the script with his brotherDave.The adaptation began shooting in Los Angeles on January 22, 2013, and was partially shot inOxford Square,a historic neighborhood of Los Angeles.In April 2014, producer Cyril Humphris sued Franco, claiming that the film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bukowski'sHam on Rye,to which Humphris had the film rights.The lawsuit was eventually settled in October 2014.As of 2024, the film has yet to be released.
• Bukowski's poem "Let It Enfold You" is read byTimothée Chalamet's character in the 2018 filmBeautiful Boy.
• Bukowski appeared with a cameo in the 1977 movieSupervan,as the "Wet T-Shirt Contest Water Boy".

In literature

Charles Bukowski was the inspiration behind the first chapter ofMark Manson's bestselling self-help bookThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.His problems with drugs, women and alcoholism despite being a bestselling writer were discussed in the chapter titled "Don't Try" – a reference to the epitaph on the author's gravestone.

Selected works

Novels

• 1971 –Post Office
• 1975 –Factotum
• 1978 –Women
• 1982 –Ham on Rye
• 1989 –Hollywood
• 1994 –Pulp

Poetry collections

• Flower, Fist, and Bestial Wail(1960)
• It Catches My Heart in Its Hands(1963) (title taken fromRobinson Jefferspoem, "Hellenistics" )
• Crucifix in a Deathhand(1965)
• At Terror Street and Agony Way(1968)
• Poems Written Before Jumping Out of an 8-story Window(1968)
• A Bukowski Sampler(1969)
• The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills(1969)
• Fire Station(1970)
• Mockingbird Wish Me Luck(1972)
• Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Selected Poems 1955–1973(1974)
• Maybe Tomorrow(1977)
• Love Is a Dog from Hell(1977)
• Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit(1979)
• Dangling in the Tournefortia(1981)
• War All the Time: Poems 1981–1984(1984)
• You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense(1986)
• The Roominghouse Madrigals(1988)
• Septuagenarian Stew: Stories & Poems(1990)
• People Poems(1991)
• The Last Night of the Earth Poems(1992)
• Betting on the Muse: Poems and Stories(1996)
• What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire.(1999)
• Open All Night(2000)
• The Night Torn Mad with Footsteps(2001)
• Slouching Toward Nirvana(2005)
• The Pleasures of the Damned: Selected Poems 1951–1993(2007)
• The Continual Condition(2009)
• On Cats(2015)
• On Love(2016)
• Storm for the Living and the Dead(2017)

Short story chapbooks and collections

• Confessions of a Man Insane Enough to Live with Beasts(1965)
• Notes of a Dirty Old Man(1969)
• Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness(1972)
• South of No North(1973)
• Hot Water Music(1983)
• Bring Me Your Love(1983)
• Tales of Ordinary Madness(1983)
• The Most Beautiful Woman in Town(1983)
• Portions from a Wine-stained Notebook: Short Stories and Essays(2008)
• Absence of the Hero(2010)
• More Notes of a Dirty Old Man(2011)
• The Bell Tolls For No One(CityLights, 2015 edition)
• On Drinking(2019)

Nonfiction books

• Shakespeare Never Did This(1979); expanded (1995)
• The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship(1998)
• On Writing;Edited by Abel Debritto (2015)
• The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way: On Writers and Writing;Edited byDavid Stephen Calonne(City Lights, 2018)

See also

• Charles Bukowski's influence on popular culture
• Bukowski(1973 film)

Further reading

• Glenn Esterly/Abe Frajndlich (2020).Bukowski. The shooting. By Abe Frajndlich.Hirmer Publishers.ISBN978-3-7774-3667-8.
• Miles, Barry(2005).Charles Bukowski.Virgin Books.ISBN978-1-85227-271-5.
• Brewer, Gay (1997).Charles Bukowski: Twayne's United States Authors Series.ISBN0-8057-4558-0.
• Calonne, David Stephen (2012).Charles Bukowski.Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-780230238.
• Charlson, David (2005).Charles Bukowski: Autobiographer, Gender Critic, Iconoclast.Trafford Press.ISBN978-1-41205-966-4.
• Cherkovski, Neeli(1991).Hank: The Life of Charles Bukowski.ISBN3-87512-235-6.
• Dorbin, Sanford (1969).A Bibliography of Charles Bukowski,Black Sparrow Press.
• Duval Jean-François (2002).Bukowski and the Beats followed by An Evening at Buk's Place: an Interview with Charles Bukowski.Sun Dog Press.ISBN0-941543-30-7.
• Fogel, Al (2000).Charles Bukowski: A Comprehensive Price Guide & Checklist, 1944–1999.
• Fox, Hugh(1969).Charles Bukowski: A Critical and Bibliographical Study.
• Harrison, Russell (1994).Against The American Dream: Essays on Charles Bukowski.ISBN0-87685-959-7.
• Krumhansl, Aaron (1999).A Descriptive Bibliography of the Primary Publications of Charles Bukowski.Black Sparrow Press.ISBN1-57423-104-9.
• Pleasants, Ben (2004).Visceral Bukowski.
• Sounes, Howard(1998).Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life.ISBN0-8021-1645-0.
• Wood, Pamela (2010).Charles Bukowski's Scarlet.Sun Dog Press.ISBN978-0-941543-58-3.
• Roni (2020).Charles Bukowski Timeline.A special publication of the Charles-Bukowski-Society in cooperation with bukowski.net & Michael J. Phillips.MaroVerlag.ISBN978-3-87512-323-4.

External links

• Charles BukowskiatIMDb
• Works by Charles Bukowski, cataloged by WorldCat
• Timeline of Bukowski's life and publicationsat "the world's premiere Charles Bukowski website and discussion forum"
• Profile, Bibliography, and poemsatPoetry Foundation
• Profile and poems at Poets.org
• "Hanging with Bukowski at the Gotlieb Center"ArchivedMarch 29, 2010, at theWayback Machine.BU Today.Boston UniversityMarch 26, 2009
• Guide to the Charles Bukowski Manuscript.Special Collections and Archives, TheUC IrvineLibraries,Irvine, California.
• "Bukowski Comes to Wormwood"ArchivedApril 21, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Wormwood Review1985
• "Mickey Rourke plays a tough barfly"ArchivedFebruary 13, 2013, at theWayback Machine.Interview with Bukowski February 10, 1987.Chicago Sun Times
• 13 August 2000 Bukowski profile (audio, 11 mins)NPR.
• "Smashed:The pulp poetry of Charles Bukowski"byAdam KirschatThe New YorkerMarch 14, 2005
• HarperCollins profile, timeline and resourcesArchivedFebruary 10, 2013, at theWayback Machine
• Bukowski Court Historical Marker