Who is Charles Bukowski?
The writer Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany in 1920. His family moved to Los Angeles when Bukowski was three years old. Charles Bukowski Senior was a bullying parent who used to violently punish the young Bukowski for trivial mistakes. Bukowski published his first story at the age of 24 and began publishing for profit in his 50’s. Charles Bukowski lived a life which some would describe as seedy. For two years of his life, he roamed around America working at manual jobs. Most of the jobs gave him just enough money to rent a room, drink and write. The experiences he gained on the road were used in his poetry and prose. It is writing from the heart about street people, hustlers and a life of women, drinking and gambling. Afflicted with extreme acne, Bukowski was painfully shy. The novel Ham on Rye describes his early and childhood years, the loneliness he felt and his awkwardness with women. After his travels around America, Bukowski took a regular job as a postal worker. T
The song “Dirty Day” on Zooropa was dedicated to Charles Bukowski. He was an internationally famous contemporary poet and prose stylist. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and came to the U.S. at an early age. He has published 45 volumes, both novels and poetry. Unfortunately, Mr. Bukowski passed away in 1994 at the age of 74. He wrote with a very raw and honest style. A good sampling of Bukowski’s work can be found in Septuagenarian Stew: Stories and Poems or Love is a Dog From Hell, both published by Black Sparrow Press. The movie Barfly with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway is based on the writings of Bukowski. Like much of his writing, Barfly was semi-autobiographical, and the movie depicts some of the occurances in Bukowski’s life.
[JC] The movie ‘Barfly’ with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway is based on the life of Charles Bukowski. I’ve only watched a half hour of it. It depicts the lives of two alcoholics, Rourke playing the Bukowski role. Despite his alcoholism, Bukowski was somewhat of an ‘urban poet’ and some of his work was published. For more answers, see the movie. [RA] Charles Bukowski was an internationally famous contemporary poet and prose stylist. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and came to the US at the age of 13. He has published 45 volumes, both novels and poetry. Unfortunately, Mr. Bukowski passed away a couple months ago at the age of 74. He wrote with a very raw and honest style. A good sampling of Bukowski’s work can be found in “Septuagenarian Stew: Stories and Poems” or “Love is a Dog From Hell”, both published by Black Sparrow Press.
Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was an American witer who achieved fame in the 60s as the “Dirty Old Man” of Los Angeles thanks to a widely read column in “Open City”. Earlier works such as “It Catches My Heart In Its Hands” were influential in the “small presses”. Author of many books of poetry and short stories such as “Love is a Dog From Hell” and many novels such as “Women” and “Post Office” Bukowski was also the subject of the Barbet Schroeder film “Barfly”.
