Bukowski in the Thrift Store.. (1 Viewer)

poetlizard

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Thought I would share a find..

Last night while walking the isles of a small-town thrift store I found and purchased a copy of Antaeus from 1992..as the database states it contains the poems "modern life" & "Bach, come back" it was nice surprise for $.50

Also, awhile back I found a copy of Post Office at a church rummage sale
for a quarter..
 
I keep hoping I'll have that kind of luck, but nothing yet.

I did get a copy of The Stranger for .25 at a library book sale... But that's not Bukowski.
 
A friend of mine bought about a dozen Bukowski books at a yard sale here in Los Angeles back in the '90's for $25. They included the City Lights Shakespeare, second edition poems written before jumping, half a dozen Black Sparrow softcovers and - here's where you can prepare your jealousy glands - five signed hardcover editions.

Giddy with generosity shortly after her score, she loaned a few of those signed editions out on a film shoot and never got them back (surprise).

I learned two lessons from her, first; there can be good stuff at yard sales, second; never, ever loan out your books. ;)
 
I learned two lessons from her, first; there can be good stuff at yard sales, second; never, ever loan out your books. ;)

I recently found the Black Sparrow Press bookclub edition of Fante's ASK THE DUST, intro by Bukowski, at a rummage sale. Nice, as I'd sold my non-bookclub copy years ago and am glad to replace it with this one.

The one time I broke my rule about not loaning out books, the guy I loaned them to (worked with my wife) was fired and disappeared with my books, a bunch of rare small press stuff. There are a few trusted souls I would still loan books to (like Bill Roberts), but I can count those on one hand.
 
I recently found the Black Sparrow Press bookclub edition of Fante's ASK THE DUST, intro by Bukowski, at a rummage sale. Nice, as I'd sold my non-bookclub copy years ago and am glad to replace it with this one.
This book club version is news to me...
 
It's only the second copy I've seen. While I don't have the original edition edition here to compare it to, it looks like a standard BSP trade paperback, good paper, well printed, nice thick textured cover stock with solid color printing (not like those cheap, fake looking Ecco reprints of the Black Sparrow covers). On the botton of the copyright page it reads "BOMC offers recordings and compact disks, cassettes and records. For information and catalog write to BOMC, [etc.]" and on the bottom of the back cover it says "PRINTED IN U.S.A.", which I don't think I've ever seen on a book published by BSP. I wonder if any other Fante or Bukowski titles were book club editions?
 
What's the publication date on that? I would think if there had been a Bukowski book-of-the-month he would have written letters about it. He doesn't really fit in with BOMC anyway. But it's interesting that Ask the Dust was produced to Black Sparrow's specifications for BOMC.

[Okay, the few copies I found for sale online all say [no date] so dating the release would be difficult. And I guess it doesn't really matter. ;)]
 
i too have seen the BOMC ask the dust. twice actually at Powells here in Portland.
and as far as goodwills, ive seen probably 10 bukowski books. at the big SE store they keep them behind glass when they get them. if you go to goodwill.com you'll find a copy of firestation for $103.50
 
What's the publication date on that? I would think if there had been a Bukowski book-of-the-month he would have written letters about it. He doesn't really fit in with BOMC anyway. But it's interesting that Ask the Dust was produced to Black Sparrow's specifications for BOMC.

[Okay, the few copies I found for sale online all say [no date] so dating the release would be difficult. And I guess it doesn't really matter. ;)]

mjp: the date on the copyright page is 1980, however, it was produced later than that. A list of other titles by Fante on the front flyleaf includes the Fante-Mencken correspondence (1989), so it's 1989 or later.

i too have seen the BOMC ask the dust. twice actually at Powells here in Portland.
and as far as goodwills, ive seen probably 10 bukowski books. at the big SE store they keep them behind glass when they get them. if you go to goodwill.com you'll find a copy of firestation for $103.50

The thriftstores around here never get Bukowski, or anything much good. When they get boring bookclub editions of popular fiction from the 1940s, they think it's gold and mark it $30 -- stuff I would pass on for 25 cents. I do find rare books at the annual library and YMCA book sales though.
 
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