Best Buk Bio(s)? (1 Viewer)

Born Into This got me to start buying and reading all of Buk's novels about a year and a half ago (after reading books and books of his poetry). I watched it three or four times On Demand.
 
If you put Sounes, Miles, Cherkovski, Brewer, Fox, et al and all the chapbook memoirs by people who knew him into a blender with all the information in this forum, you start to get within pissing distance of a real picture of the man.
But no single book has done it, and I don't think one book could do it.

yep. the last part of the last sentence tells it.
No one can put a whole life into a book. ever.
Even if someone came, would take ALL information from ALL sources - HOW will you ever pack a whole life into a given number of pages?! This will Never work.

But - what we CAN do is, trying to verify or falsify claims, trying to prove 'facts' and thus add to the whole picture.
If one writes a biography then (and I AM intending to do so someday, since in Germany we only have the Neeli-book), it has to be inside a certain frame.

[ e.g., the most valid bio of Nietzsche is a 3-volume piece by one Curt Paul Janz. But it also is obvious, that when one has to write a bio inside the publishers frame of 90-110 pages (like, say, in Germany the 'rowohlt-monographie', which is usually a VERY good start into the life of someone) you Never can cover all important things, even if you know them, even if you want to tell. ]

Besides, I do not like biographers who think they should force their writing to being 'creative' like the one, they're writing about. Their writing may look a little 'dry', but I prefer that to any 'I-want-to-write-different-and-original'-biographer. By far.
sure, that's a matter of taste.
and of target-group.
 
Not exactly a bio but a memoir: has anyone read "The Holy Grail: The Charles Bukowski/ Second Coming Revolution" new from A. D. Winans? If so, what did you think?
 
Not exactly new, either.

Haven't read it. Heard it was mostly a horn blower
for Winans, with some facts about Bukowski from
other sources thrown in.

Reviews are here: click

If someone who's read it has something different to
offer, I'd also love to hear it. . .
 
I've read Winan's memoir and I thought it was very good. I have no idea why he's described as whining in it or blowing his own horn. I don't see any of that in the book. Those criticisms feel like they're fueled by jealousy or some sort of personal grudge against Winans. I recommend the book without reservations. He knew Bukowski and has plenty to say, and he says it well.
 
I have both his books on my shelf ('second coming years' and 'holy grail - second coming revolution') but never took the time to read them.
so, you guys do recommend, yes? then I'll try to find the time ...
 
I have both his books on my shelf ('second coming years' and 'holy grail - second coming revolution') but never took the time to read them.
so, you guys do recommend, yes? then I'll try to find the time ...

Second Coming Years is one I haven't heard of. I'll have to track it down. Also, check out Winan's great poem about Harold Norse at 90. It's a recent broadside.
 
Second Coming Years is one I haven't heard of. I'll have to track it down.

it's thinner than 'holy grail' and I think I once heared, that it was the first version of more or less the same book. (but as I said, I haven't read nor compared the both) Has a green cover with Buk on it.
 
I finally got it

The only Buk bio I read was Cherkovski's Spanish translation. But thanks to this forum recommendation, I got this one a couple of days ago...

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Congrats, Pichon64! In my opinion it's the best of the three Buk bio's available.
The other two are Cherkovski's (which you already read) and Barry Miles'...
 
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Yeah I got a first edition of the Cherkovski's (Collins version, sadly not the BSP) for like... $8. Its next on my list to read.

But so far Sounes is the best bio.
 
Up to Spinning Off Bukowski and
The Holy Grail - Second Coming Revolution, Pichon!
Strong bio-memoirs.
 
Hi to all you fine peeps, so has anyone read, 'Bukowski and The Beats', by Jean-Francois Duval? Sun Dog Press 2002. Translated from the french. I've held back on it, though I did read the Bukowski interview contained within. Good pictures throughout. Does anyone have any info on the author? Thanks, CRB:)
 
I always resisted. Something about the title. Since we know that Bukowski was not a Beat, it makes no more sense to me than Bukowski and the Stock Brokers.

Maybe the title is deceiving and I have been wrong all these years.

Bill
 
I bought it, but have only read the interview too. And I don't know anything about the author. How's this for a useless post? :D
 
I talked to the author a while ago. He sent me copies of some obscure pieces listed in the book's biblio. I must be the only one here who read that part of the book :D
 
HI, no I went through it, albeit briefly, but it is one of the reasons I picked it up; the index/biblio./reference is quite thorough. Intersesting to note that in the list of websites, there is Not even one listed for Bukowski. Was there not one out there in 2002? And also, WHY does there seem to be such an urge to link up Bukowski and the Beats? Any opinions? I've never really gotten into the Beat stuff,I've tasted it here and there, and the interest I have in it now is any 'connection' with surrealism.I recently got the Viking Portable, and did peruse it for a few days, but then I spilled beer on it and had to let it dry, I'm not sure if it'll make it. CRB:)
 
WHY does there seem to be such an urge to link up Bukowski and the Beats? Any opinions?

Because categorisation creates a sense of comfort in the person doing the categorising and there are few more conspicuous and (somewhat) contemporaneous groups to lump him in with?
 
So, just lump them together because they all wrote during the same time period. Fine, Lit. Critics do/say what they want,going way out on limbs over and again. they have and always will take their criticisim wherever THEY want. But I do find it unusual, for the most part an attempt is usually made to connect writers/poets/artists,together with a stonger thread than what seems to happen with Bukowski and the Beats. If they are just throwing Bukowski in there for convenience's sake than shame, shame shame on them(again)! Simple is not always correct. Cheers, CRB:)
 
But I do find it unusual, for the most part an attempt is usually made to connect writers/poets/artists,together with a stonger thread than what seems to happen with Bukowski and the Beats.

Yes it is wrong and more than a little ridiculous.

Buk was a beat poet like am a 16th century lithographer.




PS - I am not a 16th century lithographer.
 
:DROC, Thanx for the p.s., otherwise I may have been confused. But think if you WERE a 16th century lithograper, oh the work you could do!
 
i have pulled "buk and the beats" off my shelf for a skimming and brief re-read. the interview is good so far. i read the book a few years ago so i don't remember much if any of it...
crbsmile, thanks for bringing it up!
 
Intersesting to note that in the list of websites, there is Not even one listed for Bukowski. Was there not one out there in 2002?
There have been Bukowski-centric web sites for more than a decade. The internets, it's quite old, ya know.
 

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