Thanks for your replies. I'm glad to hear his novels are good, and I'll definitely look into those. I read novels way more than poetry, but I'm trying to expand my horizons a little. I'm a slow writer, but I could post some of my thoughts and questions regarding especially poems here.
Anyhow, after picking up Love is a Dog From Hell, I skimmed through Bukowski's wikipedia page. A line about Barbara Frye piqued my interest in particular. The page states that according to a journalist she died "under mysterious circumstances". There doesn't seem to be that much reliable information online concerning her life. After some searching I ended up on this forum. I still don't have an answer but now I'm here more for the discussion and poems....
I'm glad I made an account here. This place feels a little more exclusive and seems to be less full of trolls than, say,, literature subreddits or something.