March 2014 Marks the Twentieth Anniversary of Charles Bukowski's Death (1 Viewer)

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"So fuck Doubleday Doran"
RIP
March 2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of Charles Bukowski's death. What a perfect excuse to praise one of the greatest, most honest, most controversial American poets and novelists who ever lived. You're all invited to come on stage and share your favorite poem or lines. We will also be lucky enough to have with us French writers and Bukowski fans Christophe Donner and Pierre Mikaïloff.

The event will be chaired by Alexandre Guégan, who recently translated More Notes of a Dirty Old Man into French for Grasset. And there are even rumours that we will be joined by the author himself…

Monday 17th March 7pm
A celebration of Charles Bukowski

Shakespeare & Company

37 rue de la Bûcherie
75005 Paris
 
Ha, yes, though I have not the slightest idea who those French writers are, and hope they will keep the spotlight on Bukowski's ghost. As you probably know already, I´m not the greatest fan of the francophone Parisian literary scene.

The day before yesterday I came across the former director of Beyond Baroque in LA. In a bookshop. In Berlin. Germany. Now *that* was something interesting ;)
 
[...] I'm waiting for Germany! [...]
well, Germany - represented by me - will not have a big show or 'celebration' on the occation. (certain other parts of the country will, btw.)

What Germany [i.e. I] will do is:
sitting alone in a dark room. 4 walls and some classical music. some drink, some poems of his.
then the classical music won't do anymore and there will be a change to really depressing stuff while the reading goes on, then slowly slips away. All of a sudden there will be a kick and will lead to .....
 
37 rue de la Bûcherie
75005 Paris
Well, it's in the right neighborhood, that's for sure. Far away from Saint-Honoré. Well, ok, not that far, but at least it's on the right (uh, I mean LEFT) side of the river. Funny thing, though. I remember viewing that debacle on French television. Irony abounds...
 
Wow! Shakespeare & Co in Paris - Now THIS is an address!

I bought The Most Beautiful Woman in Town and Notes of a Dirty Old Man at Shakespeare & Co in Paris in 2006.

It was a bit touristy, but still had a lot of atmosphere. Stacks of books everywhere, fotos of Hemingway & Co on the walls, sleeping cat on top of some books and an extra glass vitrine for Bukowski books only. The lady behind the counter told me that he was the bestseller of Shakespeare & Co.

I loved it in there.
 
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That's all very cute. If we weren't here "celebrating" him and "honoring his memory" every day, I might be impressed. But we are, so I'm not. That's the difference between the predictable dozen people who show up at any Bukowski "event" that might get their name into print and the rest of us, I suppose.

And as always, the irony that Bukowski wouldn't ever show up to such a "celebration" is eternally lost on the kind of people who attend them. Again and again and again. Over and over, the same tired thing.

Pour one out for Hank!

Oh wait, I just said the same thing the other day, didn't I...
 
Watching the video as we speak. The Joan Jobe reading is promising. So far.
Her choice of reading the very last Buk poem moves me.
 

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