20 Tanks From Kasseldown - Portfolio, 1946 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter cirerita
- Start date
por qué Kasseldown??? porqué tanques???? por qué 20?
why this title!!!!????
why this title!!!!????
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mjp
Founding member
Wow, that's a lot of question marks.
The title reflects Bukowski's hatred of Kasseldown and it's inhabitants. He found Kasseldownians to be lazy, ill-tempered and smelly. They offended and angered him so much that he wanted to train a platoon of 20 combat-ready baboons to drive tanks into Kasseldown and level the town.
His plan never got off the ground though, because he could never get more than 13 or 14 baboons together at one time. He had the tanks and the plan, just not the monkeypower. Which is a good thing for the residents of Kasseldown, that's for sure!
The title reflects Bukowski's hatred of Kasseldown and it's inhabitants. He found Kasseldownians to be lazy, ill-tempered and smelly. They offended and angered him so much that he wanted to train a platoon of 20 combat-ready baboons to drive tanks into Kasseldown and level the town.
His plan never got off the ground though, because he could never get more than 13 or 14 baboons together at one time. He had the tanks and the plan, just not the monkeypower. Which is a good thing for the residents of Kasseldown, that's for sure!
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thanks Mjp!
o mejor dicho: gracias!
but where have you got this information?.... only from the story?....
o mejor dicho: gracias!
but where have you got this information?.... only from the story?....
mjp
Founding member
I used to sell baboons to Bukowski. I have the only baboon farm West of the Mississippi, and he was one of my best customers.
He never fed them properly though, so he could never accumulate 20 baboons. It's an ugly, painful story, and not one that I like to tell often.
Not sure if this was posted.
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/05/fiction/20-tanks-from-kasseldown-by-charles-bukowski
It's being published for Sept. 2008
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/05/fiction/20-tanks-from-kasseldown-by-charles-bukowski
It's being published for Sept. 2008
20 Tanks from Kasseldown
Actually, the whole "20 Tanks from Kasseldown" story was a real mystery to me until a friend recently sent me info re the German Army and Hitler's flame thrower tanks. That SEEMS to be the background, but lately I've wondered whether it's also about Buk's time in prison during the draft-dodging (or draft-ignoring)days, or perhaps a combination of both. In any case, it's great stuff.:)
Actually, the whole "20 Tanks from Kasseldown" story was a real mystery to me until a friend recently sent me info re the German Army and Hitler's flame thrower tanks. That SEEMS to be the background, but lately I've wondered whether it's also about Buk's time in prison during the draft-dodging (or draft-ignoring)days, or perhaps a combination of both. In any case, it's great stuff.:)
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
you have me laughing so hard (silently) that I almost woke up my wife who would bump me off the computer if she were awake. Babboons..
Note that the web site credits Matrix, not Portfolio:
"Originally published in Matrix, v. 11, nos. 1-2, Double Issue, Spring-Summer 1948"
Why is that?
According to my razor sharp memory (har har) Tom Groff reprinted 20 Tanks as a broadside. I've seen a bootleg edition of that reprint, something like five copies only -- forget the name of the press that did it.
It's been years since I read the story -- ought to reread it.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Rekrab said:
Yeah, Tom Groff "Reprinted" it. Actually he didn't print it, Blackrose "Printed" it for him.
Then Red Stodolsky xeroxed the original 1946 edition, had Buk sign them and made a limited, but pretty unattractive edition. I think that it was 25 copies.
Bill
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
Wait a minute: just saw on eBay that Groff did a broadside of "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip." Did he also do one of "20 Tanks?" Or am I utterly confused as usual? So much for my razor sharp memory. I guess I could always go check my facts, like I should have done to start with. Nice of mjp not to ban me for too many half-cocked posts. Guess I'm getting a geezer pass, like when the kid at the sandwich shop gives me a discount just for having survived this long.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
You are right. I'm loopy from lack of sleep. Groff published "Aftermath", Stodolsky published the reprint of 20 tanks....
Bill
Bill
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
Nice to know I'm not the only one who mixes stuff up. Maybe it's infectious.
I went to look up the facts about Groff's reissue broadside in my own biblio (only one I have on Buk) but it's not covered in there. To clarify, the bootleg I mentioned is a reprint of Groff's reprint of "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip" (not a bootleg of "20 Tanks"), and it's labeled "A Thai Weed Piracy" and limited to five numbered copies. Undated but it was done in late 1984.
I went to look up the facts about Groff's reissue broadside in my own biblio (only one I have on Buk) but it's not covered in there. To clarify, the bootleg I mentioned is a reprint of Groff's reprint of "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip" (not a bootleg of "20 Tanks"), and it's labeled "A Thai Weed Piracy" and limited to five numbered copies. Undated but it was done in late 1984.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Hi,
If that is the case, then it is no more than a pirate edition that has no real value. Especially if it is a xerox or offset of the real thing that was published a year earlier.
Bill
If that is the case, then it is no more than a pirate edition that has no real value. Especially if it is a xerox or offset of the real thing that was published a year earlier.
Bill
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
True. There are probably many pirated editions of Bukowski stuff done in xerox, and like you say, they have no real value. Do you think a letterpressed piracy of any given title would have some collector value? I don't know of any -- just wondering if that would make a difference. It's a murky area you don't hear much about. Many collectors ignore bootlegs and that's probably wise. Why encourage it?
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
yes, I suspect that a letterpressed bootleg would bring slightly more, but will, not too much, unless it is very early. There is a bootleg from 1962 (?) that is very pricey...
Bill
Bill
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Krumhansl #10; Penny Poetry / The Priest And The Matador.
Broadside:
Per Krumhansl "Published sometime in 1962. Bukowski believed that this item was produced by students at Northwestern or Perdue..."
Yes, he warranted a bootleg at that point, but it is odd, because he was not hard to find and would almost certainly granted permission...
I have never seen one of these. Has anyone else ever seen one?
Bill
Broadside:
Per Krumhansl "Published sometime in 1962. Bukowski believed that this item was produced by students at Northwestern or Perdue..."
Yes, he warranted a bootleg at that point, but it is odd, because he was not hard to find and would almost certainly granted permission...
I have never seen one of these. Has anyone else ever seen one?
Bill
cirerita
Founding member
I have no info re. this one -save the one everybody knows- and I haven't come across a single reference to this broadside in the many unpublished letters I've read so far.
I think to recall there's a copy at UCSB, but I didn't pay attention to it when I was there. I was too busy flirting with the young, female librarian ;)
I think to recall there's a copy at UCSB, but I didn't pay attention to it when I was there. I was too busy flirting with the young, female librarian ;)
it was a time, when copyright issues weren't cared about as much as nowadays. esp amongst students.
cirerita
Founding member
This is interesting. How come Groff's is listed in Krumhansl and Stodolsky's is not? Did K. miss Stodolsky's?
It's listed in Water Row Books Catalogue #64 and priced $195: "Xerox reprint of the broadside story originally issued by Black Sun Press [...] One of 25 numbered copies (total edition) signed by Bukowski [...] Very scarce."
no tanks
Uh... I've just done my civic duty and informed the editors that
the actual title is... "20 Tanks...", not "20 THANKS...." I'll be
interested to see if I receive a tank you note from them.
Uh... I've just done my civic duty and informed the editors that
the actual title is... "20 Tanks...", not "20 THANKS...." I'll be
interested to see if I receive a tank you note from them.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Hi,
This is because Red just bootlegged this with Buk's permission. It is not a Primary "A" item any more than "My First Fax Poem " is a primary item. Red did a few of these limited edition Buk items for himself and good customers, but they are in effect, ephemeral reprints.
Bill
chronic
old and in the way
Since Bukowski participated in this, "bootleg" would probably be the wrong word. "One-off reprint" would probably be a better description.
It would actually be a nice little item if it weren't so poorly produced. At the time that Red and Bukowski did this, Twenty Tanks had not yet been reprinted anywhere as far as I know.
It would actually be a nice little item if it weren't so poorly produced. At the time that Red and Bukowski did this, Twenty Tanks had not yet been reprinted anywhere as far as I know.
cirerita
Founding member
Richard Peabody reprinted it in 1981 in one of his cool, slick books.
Is a sanctioned bootleg a bootleg?
