Just had a look for fun in the online catalogue of my Uni library, which gives me no matches for Bukowski...
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Just had a look for fun in the online catalogue of my Uni library, which gives me no matches for Bukowski...
They have a few of his novels but none of his poetry at my Uni library.
to add bukowski also is insanely wicked hence influence of the schnapsQuote:
Originally Posted by Mark F.
i had very mixed emotions reading some of his text
at times i was not sure if i felt sick or amused by his vivid bluntness
try this linkQuote:
Originally Posted by Koa
http://www.charlesbukowski.com
Has anyone seen Factotum yet? I saw it had mixed reviews from Cannes but hope it doesn't turn out to be a disappointment.
I have yet to see Factotum, though I would love to see it sometime soon. I, too, have heard some mixed criticisms - some praising, some detesting, but thus seems the work of Bukowski - either loved or hated with no medium. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by MirrorImage
For anyone who does not know of Factotum, click here.
I first saw Factotum before getting into Bukowski's work, and back then I really loved it. Since then I have read "Post Office", "Factotum" and "Tales of Ordinary Madness", I've also seen the excellent "Bukowski : Born into this" documentary. From what I remember Dillon's portrayal of Bukowski was spot on and very touching, the film is very close to the novel but also has some of his poetry spoken by the narrator (Matt Dillon) which really gives more depth to the character. Check out the film, you might not like it but it's really worth seeing.
The novels I read were both very enoyable, lots of off-beat humour. His prose is unique, he's one of the best writers of the last century. I'm planning on buying a collection of poems to read through this Summer.
One of my favourite Bukowski poems :
"As the spirit wanes, the form appears."
R.I.P. Hank
Bluebird
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe ?
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?
C. Bukowski
ya i love bukowski! ! ! i had no idea they were turning one of his books into a movie-- i looked up the release date and it shuold be AUGUST 15!!- cant wait. apperently it's soundtrack kicks butt too- kristin asbjornsen put some of mr.b's lyrics to music- shes a jazz artist from norway
The Factotum soundtrack is great. She does puts 4 Bukowski poems to music. After hearing it, I found myself deeply enchanted by her version of "Slow Day." Brilliant...
Good tribute to the man Basil. One of the great writers of the 20th-Century and perhaps the most relevant American author of the past 100 years. Notes of a Dirty Old Man changed my life. I first read it in the toilet and came out a different young man. The sharp wit, skid-row humor, and the weary and sober depictions of real life were unlike anything I'd read prior to that time. It shattered the comfortable, smug, rose-colored pedestal-tower I thought myself secure in. I've seen the world since with a more grounded outlook, and am all the better for it.
"All women are prostitutes, they just charge differently". - Charles Bukowski
I remember finding a worn, tattered paperback anthology of confessional poets with vintage, yellowed pages in Speech class earlier this year. I immediatley flipped it open, and came across the poem "The Loser" by Charles Bukowski. I am positive that that particular piece of poetry isn't held in high esteem to his legacy, but for my part, I believe that is the stepping stone that led me into digging old Charlie.
I remember also enjoying this poem, and I have no idea why I had not posted it earlier. :p What a triumph to literature --
first love
at one time
when I was 16
a few writers gave me
my only hope and
chance.
my father disliked
books and
my mother disliked
books (because my father
disliked books)
especially those I brought back
from the library:
D.H. Lawrence
Dostoevsky
Turgenev
Gorky
A. Huxley
Sinclair Lewis
others.
I had my own bedroom
but at 8 p.m.
we were all supposed to go to sleep:
"Early to bed and early to rise
makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,"
my father would say.
"LIGHTS OUT!" he would shout.
then I would take the bed lamp
place it under the covers
and with the heat and hidden light
I would continue to read:
Ibsen
Shakespeare
Chekov
Jeffers
Thurber
Conrad Aiken
others.
they gave me a chance and some hope
in a place of no chance
no hope, no feeling.
I worked for it.
it got hot under the covers.
sometimes the sheets would begin to smoke
then I'd switch the lamp off,
hold it outside to
cool off.
without those books
I'm not quite sure
how I would have turned
out:
raving; the
murderer of the father;
idiocy;
hopelessness.
when my father shouted
"LIGHTS OUT!"
I'm sure he feared
the well-written word
immortalized
forever
in our best and
most interesting
literature.
and it was there
for me
close to me
under the covers
more woman than woman
more man than man.
I had it all
and
I took it.
Great poem Mono, thanks for posting it.
That's one of his memorable poems mono. It quite deeply shows the importance of literature to those graced by it's substantial hand.
art
as the
spirt
wanes
the form
appears.
***
so simple, so good.
(i think it's obvious i like bukowski...just see my avatar)
Yes Yes by Charles Bukowski
when God created love he didn't help most
when God created dogs He didn't help dogs
when God created plants that was average
when God created hate we had a standard utility
when God created me He created me
when God created the monkey He was asleep
when He created the giraffe He was drunk
when He created narcotics He was high
and when He created suicide He was low
when He created you lying in bed
He knew what He was doing
He was drunk and He was high
and He created the mountains and the sea and fire at the same time
He made some mistakes
but when He created you lying in bed
He came all over His Blessed Universe.