"Find what you love and let it kill you" (1 Viewer)

[d gray]

death by extra cheese pizza! i've been trying to do that for years.

i wonder who started this craziness anyways - it's all over the internet.

 

[Black Swan]

Soon on packs of cigarettes along the scary photos...
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/33-new-terrifying-tobacco-warning-labels/

 

[Bukfan]

Good grief! :oo What's next, alcohol?

 

[Black Swan]

sorry, Bukfan, I was just projecting and being cynical. :D

 

[Pogue Mahone]

It's spreading like V.D. (i guess that dates me.) I saw this one today.

 

[zobraks]

This is (allegedly) the book of Bukowski quotes (grab it on Amazon). I wonder if they have "Find what you love..." quote in it.

 

[Black Swan]

I was going to ask if the quotes had been researched.

 

[Bukfan]

I love this part from one of the reviews:

"Maybe God is exist and take form of Charles Bukowski."

 

[Hannah]

I was going to ask if the quotes had been researched.

Since the quote on the cover is not Bukowski, I would take what's inside with a grain of salt.

 

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

I almost shat my pants listening to this. Thanks MJP.
Jordan Peterson

 

[Father Luke]

If I recall correctly, an elderly aunt told me of a letter carrier who knew something about this.

The letter carrier knew someone, a reliable source, that said there was some evidence one way or another.

?

 

[RedJr]

If you could have a beer with the person who fabricated the "falsely yours" letter, what would you say? If I knew that person, what would you say? And finally, what would it mean to the coffee mug, poster, merch industry? The first two questions are not truly hypotheticals.

 

[KPBuk]

It took a couple of years, a lot of rabbit trails, and some concern that I'd lost my mind, but I've found and confirmed the origin of the quote "Find what you love and let it kill you" AND found and confirmed the origin of the "Bukowski" love letter that sparked the obsession with the quote.

Neither the letter nor the quote go back to Bukowski. I think most of us who have given it any thought at all already knew that. But neither is the origin of the quote Kinky Friedman. Yes, I'm aware of the efforts made to solve the origin stories (Houston Chronicle, The Quote Investigator) but even they didn’t get it quite right.

I’m a longtime investigative reporter turned documentary filmmaker and, after going deep down this rabbit trail, I’m happy to say I've got the answers.

Until the 30th Annual Bukowski Festival in Berlin, I’m keeping the secrets. The truths will be revealed then and I’m excited to share. In the meantime, I can provide context for how the misinformation and misattribution started and a little about how I traced it.



Kevin Patrick Allen

FIND WHAT YOU LOVE

A RABBIT TRAIL INVESTIGATION FROM KEVIN PATRICK ALLEN

kpproductions.shorthandstories.com

 

[Falko Hennig]

Yeah, we're looking forward, here's the plan for our festival:
ugust 10–16, 2026, F-Haus, Lottumstr. 9, Berlin, Germany:
30 Years of the Charles Bukowski Society
Festival & Symposium
A whole week of films, lectures, discussions, and social gatherings with the world's leading Bukowski researchers.


Monday, august 10th, 2026, 6PM: Get together with Marina Bukowski
8PM: Bukowski (USA 1973)

Tuesday, august 11th, 2026, 4PM: Q&A with Marina Zavala (& maybe her kids)
6PM: You Never Had It: An Evening With Bukowski (Italien/USA 2020)
8PM: Bukowski, Born Into This (USA 2003)

Wednesday, august 12th, 2026, 2PM in Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark (Cantianstr. 24): Soccer Bukowski Society vs. Berlin International
8PM: Factotum (USA 2005)

Thursday, august 13th, 2026, 11AM: Kevin Patrick Allen: Find what you love and let it kill you.
The Truth about the famous faked quote
Kevin Patrick Allen is a documentary storyteller and investigative journalist known for digging up decades-buried truths, he chased the real origin of the “Bukowski” mantra “find what you love and let it kill you.” A mystery since 2012, his unexpected discovery has implications far beyond a single line and will be made public for the first time in this presentation.
3PM: Bukowski in Thailand
lecture by Sönke Manns
8PM: Crazy Love (1987)

Friday, august 14th, 2026, 11AM: Sönke Manns: Bukowski in Thailand
3PM: "Bukowski & the gods"
lecture by David Calonne
5PM: Walking tour
Bukowski & Co. in Berlin
2hours
8PM: The Best Hotel On Skidrow (USA 1990)

Saturday, august 15th, 2026, 11AM: The next book on Bukowski
lecture by Abel Debritto
12.30PM: Lunch
2PM: Gundolf S. Freyermuth: Bukowskis last words
4PM: Bukowski Society in Germany & beyond
lecture by Falko Hennig
6PM: Bukowski & Crumb
lecture by Rolf Gran
8PM: Hot Water Music

Sunday, august 16th, 2026, 11AM: Meeting Charles Bukowski Society
Goodbye