I have done quite a bit of proof reading in my time, for magazines, and I can't help but notice how many errors there are in so many of the novels and short storys by Buk that I read. Do the publishers prehaps keep everything identical to the original manuscript out of respect for the author as they would in say a poem.
Bukowski errors (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter lukesmith
- Start date
mjp
Founding member
If they kept everything just as he typed it the books would be a mess. Martin edited everything, but cirerita mentioned that when he interviewed him and brought up some errors (and duplicated poems) Martin gave him the impression that he didn't think it was a big deal.
The City Lights stuff (Erections and Tales) may have been reprinted exactly as the articles first appeared, in which case the editing/proofreading was done by people at the weekly LA hippie papers...no surprise that there are inconsistencies there.
The City Lights stuff (Erections and Tales) may have been reprinted exactly as the articles first appeared, in which case the editing/proofreading was done by people at the weekly LA hippie papers...no surprise that there are inconsistencies there.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
it's not really a big deal. i mean i've pretty much read all the black sparrow books and there arent too many errors to kick up much of a fuss about.
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
I heard somplace that City Lights heavily cut the Notes of a Dirty Old Man columns when they published them in book form. If true, that would make a cool restored edition: the complete, uncut version of all of the columns. Anyone know if they were cut?
I agree, mjp, that if the columns were proofed by hippies (no doubt stoned most of the time), they are surely rife with typos and inconsistencies.
I feel the same way. With the Black Sparrow editions, minor typos aside, I liked the overall production value starting with Barbara Martin's effective covers, then the quality and weight of the paper, plus the thoughtfulness behind the selections and the order of the poems. It was only when I came here that I read of a certain dissatisfaction with some of John Martin's editing lapses or misses.
Why none of this bothered me is that I've never read any of Buk's writings and felt that the overall feel of it had been damaged beyond repair because of the editing changes or mistakes I found out about later. His productivity was of such enormity I simply moved on to the next, and always felt that Bukowski was lucky to have Martin, out of gratitude and loyalty; and Martin was lucky to have Bukowski, one of the great literary finds of recent times.
And Martin was the first publisher that understood Bukowski's genius and marketability and had the money to back him at the same time. How many people are there in the world who would be willing to sell off their entire collection of rare Bukowski treasures"”like Martin did with his rare collection of American first editions"”in order to generate the funds to back an up-and-coming author they felt was better than anyone else? That was the position Martin was in at the beginning. So Martin had a keen instinct for knowing the exceptional American writers and banked his bankroll to bet on Bukowski. That took faith, belief and gamble"”and they both won.
So if they bickered about this and that, or there were some misfired editorial changes, I'm not bothered by this when the entire gestalt of the Black Sparrow productions are taken into account. On the contrary, I'm grateful for the miracle, and the mistakes show they were both human"”including Bukowski and some of his mistyped poems"”and were subject to the same human errors we all make, even when sober.
not sure I agree 'spelling mistakes' are integral to his style. I enjoy his grammatical style, I'm sure some of his work would surely fail if turned into a high school teacher, but maybe at the same time 'more kids' would get into reading if BUK was offered, I couldn't stand reading SHAKESPEARE, thank goodness for CATCHER IN THE RYE (although schools are and have since been removing that title from schools...). His grammar, definitely INTEGRAL. Spelling mistakes, just poor editing.
My paperback copy of Hollywood has two of the same pages with the original page missing, so you miss an entire page of the story. I usually don't "read" the hardcover books, so I had to crack my HC open to find out what I missed. The part missing is when they were looking for houses... The part where they were in one of the houses the Manson killings took place. It's a Black Sparrow book.
thanks for sharing...
HenryChinaski
Founding member
I've been re-reading The Night Torn Mad With Footsteps and there seem to be quite a few errors in this collection.
HenryChinaski
Founding member
2 or 3 in the 3rd part. i'm pretty sure...most of them are towards the end of the book. you'll notice them.
number6horse
okyoutwopixiesoutyougo
I was afraid I would open this thread and see a one-word answer :
DRINKING
But of course that was his blessing, not his error :>)
DRINKING
But of course that was his blessing, not his error :>)
I noticed that in the short "No Neck And Bad As Hell" Buk mentions that the Vicki character draws on a cooler "July 1972 Avalon Catalena"
It mentions that he meets Hemingway, but Hemmingway died in 62' right. What does it mean?
It mentions that he meets Hemingway, but Hemmingway died in 62' right. What does it mean?
