just had to say that the above quote, and Father Luke's below are 2 of the most 'right on' Buk assessments I've ever read.
Well done and well said.
---
03-20-2008, 10:10 AM #6
Father Luke
"What strikes me is that Bukowski broke open
everything he knew about what poetry was, and
made it his own. He made poetry something he
wanted to read.
Bukowski was an innovator. He knew his field, and
he stepped up, and walked to the front of the line with a:
Here I am. I will be counted among you fuckers.
Not many have that. Not many have the ability to
transcend their history. He had that. He knew his
history. He knew who those fuckers were. He'd
read them, he'd studied them.
And, eventually, he knew himself as among them.
History has given him a place, I believe, for his innovation,
and his clear voice. It came with quite a price. "