There's a story that's circulated on the web about Bukowski exaggerating his life as a wino. and it claims he "borrowed" some of the experiences he wrote about from a real life wino/hobo/homeless guy. I don't have a link, but people here probably know what I'm referring to. I don't know if there's any truth to that claim about borrowed experiences. Even if there is, I say so what -- he was turning life (his, anyone's) into art, great art.