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Check check check...1...2...3 (1 Viewer)

mjp

Founding member
There are two very weird things about this.

First, that anyone would pay $200+ for it.

Second, why the hell would BSP be sending Bukowski a measly $25 check in 1992?! That's a head-scratcher there. Maybe he needed a little something to hold him over until pay day.
 
1. See who bought it?

2. It does seem odd, but I would guess either that royalties may have been split up strictly by publication (i.e., one cheque for each publication???), so somehow Buk's monthly cut for something was $25; or that there was a $25 mistake in a previous cheque that was rectified by this.
 
it's a nice curiosity, but not worth the price. but as Purple Stickpin said, "See who bought it?"

and yes, why $25?
 
Repaying a loan?

Perhaps Buk loaned John $25 and John was repaying it. :)
Perhaps John made a small purchase from Buk. ;)
Perhaps John lost a bet on the horses to Buk. :D
Remember, they were best friends to each other in addition to professional associates.

Not everything is complicated. :cool:

I once sent John a check for a second copy of a book and he sent back the check and the ordered book.
John was always and continues to be a most generous and honest gentleman.
 
How can a check Buk cashed in a bank suddenly turn up for sale? Or did he cash it in a store and then the store owner kept it because it came from Buk?
 
Your second scenario is a possibility, but more likely it came back from the bank with his monthly statement. Banks here either send back cheques or send small copies of each monthly cheque with your monthly statement, or the checks go into some black hole if you have the carbon copy cheque option with your account.

Maybe someone went through that dumpster after all? If the cheque did come back to the Bukowski household, I'd be surprised if Linda conciously let it it out to the public in any way, shape or form.
 
(snip....)

Maybe someone went through that dumpster after all? If the cheque did come back to the Bukowski household, I'd be surprised if Linda consciously let it it out to the public in any way, shape or form.

The check would have gone back to the account holder, who is John Martin in this case. You can see the bank canceled stamp on the back of the check so it went through the bank.
Maybe it was the 3rd of 4 payments made each month, as per their agreement?:D;)
 
Of course! And here I hadn't even started drinking yet (I've fixed that, BTW).

So JM would have somehow gotten this out there. But Bukfan, although I mixed up Buk and JM in my post, the rest is accurate (except that any cheque would always have to go back to the bank to clear), so your scenario about a storeowner keeping it is not plausible. OK, I'm 0 for 2. :rolleyes:
 
Martin sold a lot of things out he back door (most notably, his entire BSP collection - everything - very recently). Many people have told me they bought from Martin over the years; books, art, manuscripts, old contracts, supposedly "suppressed" publications - I would hardly be surprised if he sold canceled checks as well.

Now that he's sold everything (as evidenced by the recent listings on ABE and eBay, and confirmed by several independent sources), and presumably has no more treasures to bestow onto people, maybe the iron curtain of secrecy will be lifted. But I doubt it.

And please, save your Saint John The Holy speeches. I don't need to hear them, and I didn't say there was anything wrong with selling all that stuff. I would have sold it too. Well, eventually. Every collection is sold eventually. Or given to some institution that will preserve it as a collection.
 
Speculation, speculation and more speculation...

Gee, I wonder when I sell or donate my rather comprehensive Black Sparrow Press collection if it will be judged as "back door selling?" I have always thought that if you owned something out right you were free to do with it as you wished and that would be no ones business. When I do sell or donate it, I wonder how "independent sources" will know that I sold or donated it all. If I do not sell or donate my plus three decades of correspondence with John Martin, I wonder if I will be accused of maintaining or perpetuating an "iron curtain of secrecy?" Maybe I should just shred it books and all and avoid baseless and judgmental speculation by others.

I sure hope John does not sell or donate all those canceled checks he first sent to me over the years with his sought after signature on them. It would be so embarrassing for all to know how much I earned from his press. :rolleyes:

OMG, what if he were to sell copies of our signed yearly contracts too!
Whew, thank heavens I insisted on having the originals and not the copies. :D

Doesn't maturity from rejection kick in for most at a certain age and silliness begin to fade? :)
 
mjp,

if by "iron curtain" you mean the BSP archives, they've been available for a long while at several institutions. It's hard to know if they're complete as the holdings are scattered here and there, and it would take a long while to piece them together. Count me out on that one, thank you very much ;)
 
Of course! And here I hadn't even started drinking yet (I've fixed that, BTW).

So JM would have somehow gotten this out there. But Bukfan, although I mixed up Buk and JM in my post, the rest is accurate (except that any cheque would always have to go back to the bank to clear), so your scenario about a storeowner keeping it is not plausible. OK, I'm 0 for 2. :rolleyes:

But if you receive a check from a famous person like Buk, can't you just keep it instead of cashing it? $25 is'nt much to pay for having a check of Buk's. I know it was a check from Martin to Buk, but Buk could've used it as payment in a shop or privately, and then the receiver just kept it instead of cashing it.
Is that a plausible theory?
 
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[...] Maybe I should just shred it books and all and avoid baseless and judgmental speculation by others.
Don't you do that, foolish boy!
screw being 'judged'!
Keep these things! - or else you'll be judged very badly by some members of buknet!


ps:
here's another nice, rare piece concerning Buk receiving money:

Hanks_Quittung.jpg


it was Oct. 2nd, 1978, when he received a letter from Maro that included 3,000 German Marks in cash. This is his confirmation that he got it.
 
But if you receive a check from a famous person like Buk, can't you just keep it instead of cashing it? $25 is'nt much to pay for having a check of Buk's. I know it was a check from Martin to Buk, but Buk could've used it as payment in a shop or privately, and then the receiver just kept it instead of cashing it.
Is that a plausible theory?

I suppose it's possible, but it doesn't seem very likely. I suppose technically Buk could have paid for a $25 item by endorsing the cheque, but I'm not sure whether a bank would accept that and hand over $25 to the shopkeeper. A shopkeeper might have also just told Buk he'd take the cheque in return for goods having no plans to cash it. It just doesn't seem too likely to me, but it's certainly not impossible.
 
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Yes, accepting the check without any intent of ever cashing it, because it was signed by the famous Bukowski.

There's many possible scenario's, of course...
 
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Doesn't maturity from rejection kick in for most at a certain age and silliness begin to fade? :)
Maybe a more relevant question; doesn't your jaw get awfully tired, constantly having Saint John's dick in your mouth?

Your "three decades of correspondence with John Martin" doesn't make you any less an annoying old twat, so if I might make the genteel suggestion that you wad up all that priceless correspondence about book orders and invoices and stick it way up your ass, I do hope you will forgive me.

You have pushed me to this shameful place of your own volition. And may I add, how dare you, sir! How dare you indeed do such a thing to me, after I extended my warm hospitality to you, and spent so many thankless hours trying in vain to teach you how these new fangled message board doo-hickeys work.

Farewell good prince Whitaker. I must turn my back on you and leave you to fend for yourself. Godspeed, good man, godspeed!

Thank you.

if by "iron curtain" you mean the BSP archives, they've been available for a long while at several institutions.
No, by iron curtain I mean that there are about half dozen or so people who bought out of Martin's collection - or archives or stock, or however you want to classify it - over the years and informed me about their buys, or offered items for resale (some of which I bought).

Interesting stuff, all of this information and all of these rarities, but they all passed along the information with the same caveat; "Please don't mention this to anyone." Which is fine and understandable. But doesn't it make you wonder - what's the big secret? I won't speculate here. Draw your own conclusions. There are many to choose from.

And of course if half a dozen spoke to me about it, you can be sure there were a hundred others who didn't.
 
"please don't mention this to anyone" must be the most popular request on the behind the scenes Bukowski world. I know I've read it plenty of times, and I've used it myself a few times. And not always when buying/selling stuff.

Maybe secrecy is only normal. It makes us feel important somehow.
 
...and the immature and crude behavior of jmp continues to run rampant !!!

It's no small wonder that John Martin cut you off from all contact with Black Sparrow Press and it's staff several years ago. Your small mindedness, bitterness and anger continues to this very day. I assure you that their is no loss when it comes to your company. John knew what he was doing!
 
once the shooting starts, it's too late for peace.
just grab your drink and your hat and take cover.
and don't come out until the cross-eyed one armed kid starts playing harmonica.
 
...and the immature and crude behavior of jmp continues to run rampant !!!

It's no small wonder that John Martin cut you off from all contact with Black Sparrow Press and it's staff several years ago. Your small mindedness, bitterness and anger continues to this very day. I assure you that their is no loss when it comes to your company. John knew what he was doing!
Oh dear. Now I've done it.

Just to update you though, Mr. Martin and I buried the hatchet years ago, didn't he tell you? I thought he told you everything? After our little spat he sent me pre-publication poems to use on the site, artwork, love letters...there is no bad blood between us at this time, that I'm aware of.

You really need to get off the hero-worship trip though, Willy. Martin is just a guy. I realize that you have some kind of dark, masturbatory shrine to him in your hovel there, but really, he's only mortal, and not beyond reproach or question. Go bang your Martin tambourine in a different airport, bitch.

Good luck selling those priceless books, by the way. How's that going? Any takers? Keep us updated. It's really fascinating stuff.
 

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