Critical Books on Bukowski's prose, especially his novel "Pulp" - for M.A thesis (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone!
I've decided to work on Charles bukowski's "Pulp" for my thesis and I wanted help on some critical books on this particular novel, and his prose in general. (Not his poetry, on the novels he has written)
It would be amazing if you could provide me with a list of such books.

P.S: If you have pdf/epub versions of these books, I'd be grateful to have them. Anything helps. Thanks a lot
 
Surely I would buy them if they're helpful, as I already did in one case (sort of a biography... Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life). so you can just recommend books, do not worry :)
 
My french is not that good :-)) but thanks a lot for this. I just emailed Dr. Thiltges (its author), hoping that he might guide me through some things... the good ones usually help you, there were some good ol' professors that helped me out.
Thanks.

How 'bout other books/theses on Bukowski? Guys and gals
 
I can't be the only one who finds it odd that you can get a "master's" degree by writing about something you clearly do not have a mastery of, can I?

Maybe I am.

That's not a question for you, Rammstein, it's for the universe, I suppose.

I guess "mastery" has been redefined by a new generation. Like "FTW" or "Cleveland Steamer."
 
When you go to your college library, they should be able to show you a database of theses on Bukowski. Ask for a North American database, as there has been a fair number of studies there.

To be honest, I don't know what angle you will take, but there's a good chance you'll have to come up with your own analysis and readings anyway. When I did my MAs in the early 2000 I couldn't find anything useful for my theses, so I had to do everything on my own, which is hard but more rewarding, and that's what a researcher is supposed to do anyway.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, people on this forum would expect you to have done most of your homework before you ask questions. Just so you know ;)
 
I can't be the only one who finds it odd that you can get a "master's" degree by writing about something you clearly do not have a mastery of, can I?
Well, it's a master's degree in English Literature, not a degree on Bukowski :-))I guess I'm good when it comes to literary theory and criticism, as I'm going to apply a bit of Deconstruction here with this novel, among other things.
Fingers crossed!

When you go to your college library, they should be able to show you a database of theses on Bukowski. Ask for a North American database, as there has been a fair number of studies there.
I live here in Iran, so I cannot use the university's database when it comes to Bukowski :) there's nothing! You know why, he's not exactly an academic-friendly novelist/poet!

And it's a bit difficult (and too damn expensive) to buy books from amazon. So I gotta find back rooms and secret doors into the realm of critical books and stuff :) But I'm going to buy a couple of books that I have found here and there. did my research :)

Btw, I'll do my own analysis/reading of the novel, but as you know, you should have reliable sources for your thesis to be valid and stuff.

I did some research since I posted this. But you know, I was hoping to find something else here, something that I might have missed.

Thank you, Dora.
 
Oh shoot, there's no database at all in you university ? Even though I'm of Persian descent (salam!), I've never been to Iran myself.

Maybe check the book written by Jules Smith on Bukowski. If I remember correctly, he wrote on Hollywood culture and detective novels at some point in the book. You could check the content table online and figure out if it's useful.

Also if I were you, I would read about the history of the detective novel, specifically the noir genre in Los Angeles, and examine the place of Pulp in that history among other things.

Good luck !
 
Salam agha Ramtin! Be ham farzanda salam beresoon!
Salam va Dorood
Bah Bah
Cheghdr khoobe bazam Irani has inja :)
Hamishe salamat va khosh bashi

Maybe check the book written by Jules Smith on Bukowski. If I remember correctly, he wrote on Hollywood culture and detective novels at some point in the book. You could check the content table online and figure out if it's useful.
Thank you so much.
I'll get that one by Jules Smith. it's really helpful.
I have (almost) enough materials on the detective novel genre, but I should gather more in the following months.

You know, there's a database and a mighty good library here, but almost nothing by or on Bukowski or such writers. If you want to study Romanticism and its poets, there's tons of books here, if you wanna work on modernism (or postmodernism) and its representative works, there's a lot of sources here and on and on. But no bukowski :// and it's a shame.

Thanks again.
 
Thanks a lot. I googled Smith and only found links for "Art, Survival & So Forth: The Poetry of Charles Bukowski"... is that the book you and Dora are talking about? I only need books or essays about Buk's novels, especially Pulp, and that's why I was a bit confused when searching around for Smith's.

Even though I'm of Persian descent (salam!), I've never been to Iran myself.
Salam, Btw!
You should come here, at least once. It's a great country, you know :) You just might like it a lot
 
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Art, Survival & So Forth: The Poetry of Charles Bukowski is the Smith book, yes. So, sorry about that, it may not get into Pulp. Despite the title, there is mention of the novels in several places, but I don't recall anything substantial on Pulp.
 
OK so I digged out my copy of Jules Smith, and there isn't much about Pulp indeed. There is a chapter called "At the Movie and the Racetrack" which is probably why I thought of Smith in the first place, but it doesn't talk much about detective movies.

David Calonne's book is great. Even if you only write about one book, you need some general background on the author, and David's book is not only the most updated one in terms of biography (unless I missed anything since then?) but as opposed to other biographies, it doesn't lose sight of the literary work itself.
 
This idea for a thesis is just a train wreck, but I do think Bukowski would have liked it since he was the engine driver. Even though I didn't have nearly as much Buk knowledge or LA Detective novel experience as I do now, I understood what he was trying to do. I always viewed him as a detective of worlds I'd never been to -- and reported back what he found. Sure, it turned out very badly, but give the kid a break -- he knew this was it and who knows what drugs they had him on.
 

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