Greetings to you all from the Salted Slug. I am fairly new to Bukowski's works, but have quickly become a big fan. Happy to be here!
"A lot of people" prefer to read authentic Bukowski, which you get with the collections published during his lifetime. The posthumous books have been heavily edited, and in the process - a lot of people might argue - degraded. To put it mildly.a lot of people will prefer the rollicking tumult of his earlier stuff, i like the maturity and reflexiveness of his later work.
The posthumous books have been heavily edited
But as you can see, just because the book is "later" doesn't mean the poems are later. Look at the dates on those night torn mad manuscripts; 1975, 1977, 1982. Later books does not equal later poems.the tampered later stuff reads better to me that the untampered earlier rougher stuff.
I'm all about the poetry, personally, although i know a lot of folks around here disagree. The night torn mad with footsteps has a keeper on every page practically for example. Although again a lot of people will prefer the rollicking tumult of his earlier stuff, i like the maturity and reflexiveness of his later work. Also i can recommend a book of interviews, Laughing with the gods. What were some pieces in Love is a Dog that you dug?