if you could buy any buk book for $1 (1 Viewer)

jordan

jordan

lothario speedwagon
which would you choose? for me, i'd have a hard time passing up the black sparrow graphic arts edition of the captain is out to lunch.

others on my list:
you kissed lilly- a lettered edition with a good illustration (not just a few scribbles)
ham on rye with a painting
horsemeat
heatwave
bring me your love- lettered
 
Hey sorry Jordan. I still gotta get photos of your dream book to you!
I feel so lucky to have what I have - I do want more but I'm ashamed of how long the list is.
 
It may not be the rarest or the most expensive but a lettered copy of Post Office, signed and with a drawing would be nice to have. I would'nt mind a copy of Ham on Rye with a painting either.
A signed copy of Write would also do...:D
 
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Out of print book of course. Just words, not signed.

Question: All the poems in flower, fist...are published in other books?
 
I'd take just about anything (except the Ecco reprints) for a dollar, but if I were put in a room with everything Bukowski ever had published and told I can choose only one item, I'd have a tough time choosing between "Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail" and "Genius of the Crowd."
 
nymark said:
The Charles Bukowski Album. I've only ever seen a photo of it.
Click to expand...

Me too,
And I wonder why only 10 copies were published?

Has one ever been on the market?

(I love the pic of it in Aaron's biblio...
reminds me of _______ (well, something/someone))

And personally,
I'd love those 3 Hardcovered and illustrated Sparrow issues
Africa, Paris, Greece et al.
Too bad While the Music Played wasn't produced in the same fashion.
 
I've had this recurring dream where my father and I are walking around an art gallery that is full of Bukowski paintings and drawings (my father does not know who Bukowski is, nor does he care) and I buy several large and small framed works - and they're cheap!
So I guess I'd really like to buy a big painting of his - for $1.
 
Buck Buk book

If it had to be a book, I think I'd take Genius of the Crowd. It is certainly one of my favorite of his poems. See if you can listen to this way too recent reading here:

http://vicariousbooks.com/Genius.m4a

There's something about the single poem book thing, the supposed police confiscation of most copies, the way it looks.

Other considerations would have to be the Signatures, A C.B. Album, for rarity if nothing else (I've never seen any). Flower, Fist of course. I love the little green silk copies of "Art". Other (more likely) BSP considerations would have to be (with great artwork) Post Office, Ham on Rye, Terror Street, Days Run Away....
 
zoom man said:
And personally,
I'd love those 3 Hardcovered and illustrated Sparrow issues
Africa, Paris, Greece et al.
Click to expand...

This is a great choice. These books are beautifully designed and printed and all the copies I've seen have very strong paintings in them.

Also, the Burn Again Press books, although slight, are nicely done and would be a great purchase for a buck. They are clean, simple productions that feel rich in your hands. I like the paper stock that was used and they typeface is unusually larger than what you're use to seeing. They're interesting.
 
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Longshot Poems For Broke Players. I don't think I've ever seen the cover for this. A few pomes/poems that don't appear elsewhere.

I was looking at a small ad in a 1967 Open City for Either/Or Bookstore in Hermosa, CA. They had Crucifix in a Deathhand, signed for $7.95 and Cold Dogs in the Courtyard for $1.25.

Digney in Burnaby said:
Longshot Poems
Click to expand...

Whoops..."pomes".
 
Bukfan said:
They are published in The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills...
Click to expand...

That's pretty cool.

I bought The days run away... in Paris late 80ties. The booksellers might heard about the bookstore where I bought this book: Shakespeare and company.
I believe they worked together with city lights bookstore in Frisco?
 
chronic said:
I'd take just about anything (except the Ecco reprints) for a dollar,
Click to expand...

Right! I would even take the reprints if it's just for one buck, wouldn't you? Really?
Even more:
getting one of the really RARE and valuable items, I would have a bad conscience about only paying One. So, maybe I had to refuse this opportunity? No, sure not. Maybe giving the seller a box full of very good wine (at least), or something. Or offering a blow? (Depending on the item, sure.)
:-))
 
Yes, I would feel bad, but at the same time feel euphioric. I wrestle with this often. Recently a man bought an original copy of the Declaration of Independence at a thrift store. He paid $2.48 for it and it is expected to sell for 2.5 million. Great for him, but imagine how the poor owner of the thrift store feels. I'm sure they get calls from the press, so they would have to know that they let a fortune and early retirement slip through their hands.

So, If I found a copy of Flower, Fist in a bookstore for $1, yes, I would buy it. I'd feel bad. I'd make sure that they were the only used bookstore that I bought from, and i would still never be able to shake the feeling that I somehow ripped them off.

To bring it back to Bukowski. I find it amazing that friends of his would come over to his house and steal his books.

Best,
Bill
 
bospress.net said:
Yes, I would feel bad, but at the same time feel euphioric. I wrestle with this often. Recently a man bought an original copy of the Declaration of Independence at a thrift store. He paid $2.48 for it and it is expected to sell for 2.5 million. Great for him, but imagine how the poor owner of the thrift store feels.
Click to expand...

Bil:

If I ever buy a book for a few bucks and it's worth a few million, I'll send you $500.000, deal?
 
I don't know if I'd feel bad or not. once on ebay, I noticed a seller had up a lot of New Yorkers magazines. in that lot, she had the edition with the first appearance of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain (though she didn't have any mention of it in the description). the lot was at $10. I emailed her and brought her attention to the Brokeback mag. she changed her auction, played up Brokeback, and it sold for about $200.
my good deed, but i had no real interest in owning it. if it was a Bukowski, or someone else I love, I'd probably keep my mouth shut and buy it.
anyway, back to topic. for one dollar, I'd buy all the movie tie in copies of Factotum, tear the covers off, and pass the rest of the books to passersby on the streets.
 
Well, I guess, I'd buy it also. On the other hand, I'm of that kind, when I play chess and my 'enemy' makes a serious yet stupid mistake who would e.g. make him lose the Queen, I use to ask something like "you really want to make that move? Sure?" - and when he re-thinks and takes it back: how many games have I lost that way?! - so, perchance I would at least give that person something in return. But who can say that without being in the situation? I'm not holier-than-anybody.

bospress.net said:
back to Bukowski. I find it amazing that friends of his would come over to his house and steal his books.
Click to expand...
Yeah! Definitely this is one of the really amazing - and disgusting - parts! And it seemed to happen so often! - I wonder if he didn't recall, who was his guest that night and ask about the books. Or were these 'guests' all strangers, who did that? Anyway, these people were real SUCKERS!
 
In the foreword to 'The Roominghouse Madrigals' he states:
"I don't even have some of my early books. Most of them were stolen by people I drank with. When I'd go to the bathroom, they did their shit. It only reinforced my general opinion of humanity. And caused me to drink with fewer people."
 
thanks roni,

and i thought lending books and not having them returned was scraping the barrel! i wldn't mind if i thought they actually read the things!
 
Hmm, I don't think it's stealing to pay a ridiculously low price for a valuable item. If the seller doesn't know what they have, they are no worse off for getting your $2 for it. Unless you then dance around the store and wave it in their face singing, "Thou-sand dol-lar bo-ok, Thou-sand dol-lar bo-ok!"

I think it would be kind of weird, actually, to say, "I would like to buy this book please. Now, you realize that you are asking $2 for it and it's really worth $1000, right?" Who would do that?

Like hooch, I might tell them if I wasn't interested in the item, but be honest, if you shop in used bookstores and thrift stores you're dreaming about making one of those "few dollar" scores. That's why you walk into those joints.

A while back there was a chance that someone had listed a 1962 copy of Run With the Hunted in an eBay auction along with some other Bukowski books for a "buy it now" price of $60. As it turned out it was not the 1962 Run With the Hunted, but when I hit that "buy it now" button when there was still a chance that it was, I felt not a pang of remorse, I guarantee you. ;)
 
Do you know the old adage "let the buyer beware?" It works both ways. Let the seller beware as well.

A few years ago I was outbid on eBay for a copy of HARLEQUIN (true!). It went for $700 and I couldn't pay more than that. I contacted the seller and told him that if the sale fell through to contact me. He was a second hand bookstore owner and was completely shocked that it sold for that kind of money - he didn't know what he had. If I had scored that copy for cheap, I have to admit that I would have felt no remorse whatsoever.
 
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roni said:
In the foreword to 'The Roominghouse Madrigals' he states:
"I don't even have some of my early books. Most of them were stolen by people I drank with. When I'd go to the bathroom, they did their shit. It only reinforced my general opinion of humanity. And caused me to drink with fewer people."
Click to expand...

I think it has to do with drinking. I drink.

When you are observing people when you drink you become somewhat loose...This has a important reason when you're a writer, because when you write, it's in your system, 24/7. So you let it happen, plus, when you are a drinker and a writer, or otherwise, you "think", you have someting to write about. And when you drink with a reason you think you don't manipulate, yourself or other people.
Just a truth, like the statement of Hesse in Steppenwolf, there is not 1 truth, there are many truthes ( spelling?)

And caused me to drink with fewer people."

Totally logical to me.

Don't take me too serious, though.
 
My pick would be FLOWER, FIST AND BESTIAL WAIL.

I recently bought a rare book worth $50 on eBay in very fine condition for 99 cents and $2.50 shipping. I felt a pang of guilt and sent them $6.00 to make it worth their time. Glad I did. How much of a bargain do I need?
 
Man, I just searched on the ol' amazon website and it catches ... is going for $2445. So I reckon ... Indeed it would have to be It catches ... for me.
 

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