Notes of a Dirty Old Man - did Bukowski really murder someone? (1 Viewer)

[JuliaLovesCB]

Hey there. I am a HUGE Bukowski fan but I realized he said that he shot somebody in the head early on in the book " notes of a dirty old man " . I was wondering if this was true, if he was really a murderer ?? He tells about the blood all over him and the women that was with the man that asked Bukowski to shoot him. I'm puzzled and scared that my favorite author of all time could be a killer.
Is he ? Could somebody explain what he was trying to get across with those frightening words ?
Thank you for your time,
Julia

 

[bospress.net]

Bukowski never killed anyone. He also never raped any children. Those are characters in a piece of fiction....

 

[roni]

[...] he said that he shot somebody in the head early on in the book " notes of a dirty old man " [...]

Hi Julia,
as bospress said, Buk never killed anyone (physically).

Still I'd be interested in knowing what exact passage you're referring to. Can you give the whole quote/context or tell which of the 'Notes' (date) it was?

 

[JuliaLovesCB]

"I pulled out the luger and put it to the back of his head. " For Christ's sake Baily ! Get hold of yourself ! I'll give you half of everything I've got! No, I'll give you everything I got, -this board, everything the works - just take that gun away from my head !" "if you think killing is strong, then TASTE some strong ! " I pulled the trigger. It was awful. A luger. Parts of eggshell head, and brain and blood everywhere: Over me, over her nylon legs, dress..."

P.S. Thank you for getting back to me so fast. :) Glad to know hes not a REAL killer.

Oh you mean Baily ? I thought Baily was a nickname for Buk... I didn't know why but I thought that?

Bukowski never killed anyone. He also never raped any children. Those are characters in a piece of fiction....

What fiction ? Notes of a dirty old man ? Is that fiction ???o_0o

 

[bospress.net]

yes. Bukowski wrote fiction. Sometimes it was semi-autobiographical fiction, but sometimes completely made-up fiction. He also wrote a story about a child rapist, again, it is fiction.

 

[Black Swan]

I'm glad we've cleared that one up for Julia! :wb:

 

[JuliaLovesCB]

yes. Bukowski wrote fiction. Sometimes it was semi-autobiographical fiction, but sometimes completely made-up fiction. He also wrote a story about a child rapist, again, it is fiction.

Thank you

 

[Rekrab]

Think of "Notes of A Dirty Old Man" as a collection of unrelated short pieces, some fiction, some autobiography, some just rants. He was writing columns for a (weekly?) underground newspaper and -- so the story goes -- when it came time to turn in his next column he would sit down with a beer, not always knowing what his subject would be, and start typing. Whatever came to him, that was the column.

 

[Johannes]

"I pulled out the luger and put it to the back of his head. " For Christ's sake Baily ! Get hold of yourself ! I'll give you half of everything I've got! No, I'll give you everything I got, -this board, everything the works - just take that gun away from my head !" "if you think killing is strong, then TASTE some strong ! " I pulled the trigger. It was awful. A luger. Parts of eggshell head, and brain and blood everywhere: Over me, over her nylon legs, dress..."

I don't remember this part at all. It's in Notes?

 

[hank solo]

Yes. Page 22 of the City Lights blue cover edition.

 

[Johannes]

Okay, I see. Have to reread.

Thanks.

 

[growing beard]

i for one can see why he had to write that murder into his work. so primal. war is such an ancient aspect of being a man. there is no meaningful war anymore, no tribe to defend, just generic and souped up patriotism. i was raised a pacifist but now i think that's a load of castrated garbage. people make such a big deal out of death, it's ridiculous. this is coming from a guy who's never been in a fight in his life mind you, except abstractly, but i've kicked my share of metaphorical ass believe you me. but back to bukowski, the guy grew up in la, fought for his place in the city, and was rewarded after many years. what a fuckin hero. nobody does that anymore, now people just buy their way through doors. and he wasn't afraid of death in the least, that's a huge part of what made his art so vital imo. thank god for art, otherwise nothing real would be expressed anywhere as far as i'm concerned/

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Of course, there's always William Wantling...:?:

 

[mjp]

Wow, poptop immediately followed by Pleasants; an unexpected 1-2 punch.

 

[growing beard]

Of course, there's always William Wantling...:?:

well it's never advisable to idolize a living being.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Or to take too much you read on the interwebby serious-like.

 

[growing beard]

until you have personal power you have no choice but to take things seriously. otherwise, it's just the long slow death. people tell others to 'not take it personal' or ' not take it seriously' in order to manipulate them.

 

[mjp]

Yes, life is very serious and dark. You shouldn't be wasting it here, among the proletariat and lesser minds. You should really be somewhere else, far away, sharing your wisdom. Far away from here. Far.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

You shouldn't be wasting it here, among the proletariat...

hey, speak for yourself, tough guy. I'm anti-letariat. have been since the lasso wars in the '80s.

 

[mjp]

You would be. Ever since the 80s you been grudging hard, yo.

 

[alonewiththegods]

Hey julia! Didnt he also tell in that story of a winged man/angel playing for a sports team the protagonist was coaching? Which must have indicated it was fictitious? Also i am curious that as you are worried about him being a murderer, i was wondering what do you make of the rape scenarios he tells of?

 

[james]

yes, and he also boxed hemingway in one story...

 

[Dr. Zorders]

That story is obviously fiction, but sometimes you run across one that is realistic enough to make you wonder. I'm reading "More Notes of a Dirty Old Man" now and there's a story in it in which Buk. mugs and nearly kills a few people. It starts with him drinking in a bar and getting into a fistfight with a guy named Tommy. Eventually they pile into Tommy's car and keep drinking where Bukowski finds out the guy is a career criminal. They run a car off the road, and after finding out it's filled with a bunch of college boys they beat them up and then take their wallets. Later they jump a young couple and Tommy beats up the boyfriend and rapes the woman while Bukowski stands at a distance. That's what makes the story seem realistic: He's not blowing people away with a tommy gun, he's mostly the reluctant accomplice to this guy. It ends with Tommy dropping Bukowski off at his crummy apartment and splitting the cash they've stolen. It sounds like something he could've been desperate enough to do during his barfly days. Probably fiction, but I'm sure he did plenty of things that extreme while on a bender. Hell, he wrote a story about fucking a guy in the ass at a drunken orgy, and several people testify that it's true.

 

[Rekrab]

Dr. Zorders: you might be on to something there.

Just for the record: I did NOT murder 33 wayward girls from Kansas, even though I wrote about it in some detail. That was pure fiction. Bill would never publish a murderer.

 

[alonewiththegods]

Dr zorders i have just read notes of a dirty old man and i dont recall that story, i might have missed it. which version/edition do you have and which page is it? mine is virgin books

 

[hank solo]

I'm reading "More Notes of a Dirty Old Man"

i have just read notes of a dirty old man

Different collections.

 

[alonewiththegods]

Ohhh that makes sense, i missed the more. i thought it was a bit short, always exciting to find more material by bukowski, Ill have to look into getting it. any ideas wheres easiest yo purchase 'more notes of a dirty old man'?

 

[hank solo]

Its available from Amazon UK, or direct from City Lights