Bukowski's attempted suicide? (1 Viewer)

Is there anything Bukowski wrote, where he talks about his attempted suicide by gassing? I've searched around for information on this, but I've only read about it in the timeline on this site. Thanks in advance for any replies
 
SOMETIMES IT'S EASIER TO KILL SOMEBODY ELSE a poem in SEPTUAGENARIAN STEW springs to mind. there's probably in that poem as much description of the attempt as anywhere else in his oeuvre.
 
There are references to it in the letters books and on the Bukowski tapes. He wrote about it often, though I can't point you to anything specific at the moment...
 
i know I remember reading about it i think. theres just so much fucking buk work ive been reading that I have no recolection at all of as to where it was. sorry my friend. perhaps i will stumble upon it again because I seem to find myself not intending to retrace my steps when it comes to reading hanks work.
 
excuse me, mjp, HC, is my above post incorrect? like they said of li po in his lifetime, my post seems to have walked through this thread with an other-worldly ease...:confused:
 
very likely. i'm not as familiar with the postumous stuff, having lost interest at a certain point (bone palace ballet, i think). nevertheless, my bookshelf seems to have acquired the late collections by themselves (albeit, mostly in british paperback releases.) ok, back to suicide...
 
He talks about committing suicide by gas in the short story "The way the dead love" in the book "South of no north" page 149. I remember having read about another suicide attempt of his, also by gas. He turns on the jets and lies down on the bed, then loosing his nerve he leaves the bed and opens the windows. Just can't remember where I read it...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There's an essay/story in the book "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" that is focused on suicide attempts - his own and others'. The gas attempt is mention, as well as an attempt that was thwarted by Milton Berile's cousin's head being hit by a rock. Good stuff. Don't have my copy by my side, so I can't give a page number, but it's definitely in there.
 
You're right! The suide attempt I couldn't remember is indeed the one you mention. I looked it up. It's in "notes..." page 95. And he talks about being saved by the news of Milton Berles cousin's head having been hit by a rock, as he also does in "The Way The Dead Love". So it's the same suicide attempt being described in two different books.
But as we know, it was quite common for Buk to repeat himself in his books...

I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forum!...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He talks about committing suicide by gas in the short story "The way the dead love" in the book "South of no north" page 149. I remember having read about another suicide attempt of his, also by gas. He turns on the jets and lies down on the bed, then loosing his nerve he leaves the bed and opens the windows. Just can't remember where I read it...

YES! thats the one i was thinking of. damnit man, youre a walking talking bukowski reference. LOL . good work bukfan.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks, HC (funny, but that's also my initials)! All compliments are accepted with greed...:D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There's a gas suicide tale in the poem "Love", from "Burning in Water Drowning in Flame". Pretty much the same tale I think...
[...]
he turned on all the jets
without lighting them
and went to bed

some hours later a guy on his
way to room 309
lit a cigar in the
hall

and a sofa flew out the window
one wall shivered down like wet sand
a purple flame waved 40 feet high in the air
[...]
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top