Charles Bukowski anyone?

It took me half an hour to read your post (Joke).

Ive read all of the Henry Chinaski novels and I think I even started with Postoffice. They are all pretty similar and very enjoyable. Postoffice was my favourite. his short story collections are worth checking out aswell. I have no idea what his peotry is like, havent gotten round to that yet.

I've read Women, watched the film version of Factotum (the soundtrack is amazing; the movie only so-so), and listened to Tom Waits's recitation of the Bukowski poem, "Nirvana." That's my history with the man.

Women was a great read. It was a lot like American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis in that there wasn't much of a plot to speak of, but the characters and situations were so interesting that it doesn't matter. I'm not sure if all Bukowski novels are this way, but it works in this one instance, at least. It's a book I'll read often, like American Psycho, in order to try and understand just how these authors get away with an intriguing novel that doesn't "go anywhere."

 I have only read Post Office but I thought it was ace. I remember reading it in one sitting on a train journey. I would definitely like to read more of his stuff when I get chance.

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i dont think there are but a small handful here who've NOT read bukowski

for that matter, anyone who's a diehard fan should know john fante pretty well, though ive only read [i]ask the dust[/i] by that homie.  i really need to get my hands on the rest of the [i]bandini trilogy[/i].  as for bukowski:

derek, he's an author known best for his remarkable prose.  definitely spend some time with his poetry when you get the chance. 

i've read, not much..

pulp was my fav.  also women and post office is on the shelf, only collecting dust for a few short months now

there's always more to read.  at least i dont have to worry about him going outta print any time soon

-kabol

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I read all his novels and various books of poems a few years ago.   In retrospect they're all boring.  I kinda subscribed to his whole view on writing too, the one communicated through all of those poems that seem to be repeating the same shit over and over, the one where he would gibber about soul, natural talent, and some other self-aggrandizing garbage.  

But then again, I came upon better writers through Bukowski.  He was always ripping on Camus, Hemingway, Nietzsche, Knut Hamsun, etc. 

JKabol- Funny that you mention John Fante I have Wait Until Spring Bandini on my list of books for this menth. Im now really looking forward to reading it.

I've read all his novels, a lot of the poetry and short stories, and he's hands down my favourite writer. A lot of it really is all the same, but then if you love someone you can listen to them say the same things over and over and still find it incredible. I think I forgive a lot of the unimaginative repetition and infammatory dissing of great writers because he has so much conviction. What's even better about him is that sometimes he just seems to really want that conviction, and it shows, it's so human that I'm always drawn to it over and over again.

And definitely read Fante, because in a lot of ways he's so much better. Bukowski openly admitted he was the biggest influence on his writing, get that Bandini Quartet and read the intro by Bukowski, too. Fante is different in that he always seems to be sneering at his own character, where as Bukowski always seems to be shying away from himself in some ways. That's how it seems to me, anyways. Like Bukowski sees his flaws and either boasts to cover them up or gets really emotive about it, and Fante just sort of looks at himself and everyone else and says 'Fuck it, I'll take the piss a bit'.

None of this is an english lit degree worthy analysis, but there we are, I'll just keep babbling since I'm past the point of no return.

They are my favourite writers because so much of themselves is revealed through what they write and I find that fascinating. Probably a whole bunch of people will call me out on this now but I haven't found a modern writer who writes so brutally and shows so much of themselves as they did. When I write, I always try and write in a way that hopefully someone will read it and understand or at least wonder who I am, and not just who the character is, because I know there are a whole bunch of people out there who like that stuff the same way I do, and those are the people I want to meet one day.

That last bit was wicked cheesy, weren't it?

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i didnt know the bandini books was a quartet:  i thought it was a trilogy.

a friend of mine visited from maui last summer and pushed [i]ask the dust[/i] onto me, telling me that fante was bukowski's god.  so i read it the next day.  man.. some of the writing is just flawless, and beautiful.  from what i understand, from what i read in the back of the edition, [i]dust[/i] was his favorite, his fav among his books.  which means it may not be his best.  i look forward to reading the other three and deciding for myself.

-kabol

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Animation of "A Little Atomic Bomb" here:

http://coloredchalk.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=40

charles bukowski is one of my favorite authors ever. ive read all of his novels and have a lot fo his short story and poetry books. i've seen factotum, okay, barfly, which he wrote and is very similar to his novel, and have the charles bukowski tapes which is basically four hours of bukowski talking about everything. it was filmed during the years that barfly couldnt find a studio. this whole process is what his book hollywood is based on. hes actually better known as a poet and refers to himself as a poet. he only wrote post office, his first book, because john martin, the publisher who discovered him and published all of his works, told him that he should write a novel if he wanted to make money. he wrote post office in three weeks. he wrote around 1000 poems a year for most of his life. not all of it is incredible but i love most of it.

i could talk about bukowski all day. i prefer his poetry during his last years of life. let it enfold you, from betting on the muse, is my favorie poem by anyone ever. my favortie novel of his is either post office or ham on rye. all of his books are incredible. he makes me laugh out loud and breaks my heart. one of the few writers who can do both so well. in my opinion anyway.

not going to mention fante because people already have. but he is great. id look into louis-ferdinand celine. bukowski owes a lot to him as well. same with knut hamsun. bukowski loved hemingways early novels but was critical of his later ones. which i agree with.

him and rimbaud, i think, are the writers whove had the most interesting and fascinating lives. reading bukowski is basically reading an autobiography though. just read it all. theyre all quick reads and really enteraining.

im going to leave this post at that before i get too carried away

Bukowski is always fun to talk about.  He is one of those individuals that become almost larger than their art themselves.  For lack of a better word I always felt his writing was honest and authentic as well.  He is someone that makes it look easy.  After reading the Post Office, which was my first Bukowski novel, I walked away thinking that I could indeed write as well.

Buk is a good second tier like author to get into.

I think authors like Chuck are first tier. they get you excited for reading and lead you on to other folks like bukowski. But he shouldn't be the end all be all of your reading. you should be able to go on past him to even better authors, and keep moving up the line.

I've read his Factotum, Women and Notes of a Dirty Old Man. I think they did a pretty good job with the factotum movie, especially uglying up matt dillon. But after reading some of his poetry on here on time, it just made me cringe with it's awfulness. He may come up with one or two good lines every now and then but it doesnt make up for all the trash you gotta go through to get to them.

Read his books but avoid the poetry!

Bukowski sucks.

"tiptoes away*

I wouldn't say he sucks. There's PLENTY worse then him.

To be honest, I haven't read many authors whom I considered to be so overrated, but that's partly because I don't read around all that much. I tend to read the authors people recommend to me, and authors that influenced other authors I enjoy, so I just randomly pick up a book I've never heard of and start reading.

I figure that since I'm in college and I'm doing English, I may as well get all the classics out of the way now, so I'll have a more solid knowledge of shit before I start reading other things. My loss, perhaps.

Still, Bukowski's poetry is, to my mind, the equivalent of cheap mayonnaise.

I can see seeing him as being over-rated. But I think a lot of that is the literary worlds want to have someone else in line after all the beats. Which he fits into well. Of all of them though I think Burroughs is the most over-rated but at least he had the decency  to not  try poetry.

 I appreciate all of your comments. I haven't really heard Bukowski mentioned here much so I didn't know if there was a fan base or not. Of course I didn't really dig deep into old threads or anything like that to see if there had been any previous discussion. I'm only on the computer sparingly (basically when I have a few free minutes at work like now) and I definitely like to check out what's going on with "The Cult". Plus, I figured I'd freshen up things a bit with a different subject since I figured there were enough "Any recommendations?" out there.

  Well like I said, I'm waiting to get 'Women' in the mail. Sounds like I'll enjoy it. Take care everyone.

The unedited one is probably one of my most favorite photographs of all time.

is that girl in the tub talking to me?

yes, it is....[i]From beyond the grave![/i]

what does she say?

BUK? BOK? BLK?

it's an autographed picture signed BUK. that's how bukowski would sign his name.

I couldn't find a copy of the unfiltered one

poor natey.

Good man Freddy, Ive now got John Fante on my must read list after reading this thread, lets hope he's as enjoyable as people say.

Love Bukowski Women is a must read for men it might be a little much for women but to each his or her own I've read all of his novels the poetry is good also if you enjoy drunken madness/beauty

I love Bukowski, both his prose and his poetry. I know a lot of folks don't care for his poetry as much. Of course a lot of folks like Dan Brown, too. No accounting for taste... I think he's the least pretentious poet to ever write. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills is one of my favorite books of verse, pretty much ever. (It's gonna be a great day when I figure this html stuff out and I can actually underline and/or italicize book titles again.)

The only novel of his that I've read was Post Office and it actually made me want to be employed by the post office.  He described all the terrible things that happened to him but still made you want to experience them yourself.  Bukowski had this reputation for being a hard drinking, womanizing tough guy. Yet, I haven't read anyone yet who's been able to be as vulnerable in his writing as him.  The way he is able to describe his humility in situations is incredible in how  you can relate to it.

I own two of his books on poetry and I favor it more.  His sense of humor is brilliant.  I too, also laugh out loud when reading his poems.

Through him I also got turned on to Lawrence Ferlinghetti,  Henry Miller,  Ezra Pound  and others.