Paper on Buk-a cynic? (1 Viewer)

[Nimue]

Hello there!
I'm doing a paper on Buk and I was hoping some of you might be able to help me with a few questions.
First of all, does anyone know WHERE and WHEN the following poems have been published?
"The house"
"The lucky ones"
"it was just a little while ago"
and "Hello, how are you?"

Also I was wondering if you might know anymore poems of Buk that sound really cynical or make him appear as a cynic. My thesis is that he actually isn't a cynic though it often seems like it.:rolleyes:

Thank you for your help!
:) Nicole

 

[cirerita]

check the database!

 

[mjp]

It's funny, if you look at the statistics for this site when it was on smog.net, 80% of the requests were for database pages. Now it seems like no one can find it.

 

[Erik]

Maybe you should rename the link to "poem database"?

 

[SamDusky]

I believe Erik has a smashing idea there. That could well help the newcomers navigate.

SD

 

[Nimue]

Thanks for that. Anyway, can you guys think of anything cynical in buks poetry?

 

[mjp]

Maybe you should rename the link to "poem database"?

That is a good idea, I'll have to see if it will fit though.

 

[mjp]

Thanks for that. Anyway, can you guys think of anything cynical in buks poetry?

That shouldn't be too hard to find in any poetry collection you happen to crack open. I would guess that within...hmm...ten or fifteen pages, you can find an example. ;) Maybe I'll try that when I get home.

 

[Erik]

Wouldn't this be a good idea for a new thread? Buk's most cynical poem?
How about "the genius of the crowd" for a starter? -->http://plagiarist.com/poetry/4508/

 

[SamDusky]

beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average

Is it just me, or has anyone else recognized the similarity of this poem to the Beatitudes?


Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.

Buk must have picked up the bible from the night stand in one of those flop houses....

SD

 

[bright]

Bukowski, Charles:yes yes [from Burning in Water Drowning in Flame: Selected
Poems 1955-1973 (1997), Black Sparrow Press]


1 when God created love He didn't help most
2 when God created dogs He didn't help dogs
3 when God created plants that was average
4 when God created hate we had a standard utility
5 when God created me He created me
6 when God created the monkey He was asleep
7 when He created the giraffe He was drunk
8 when He created narcotics He was high
9 and when He created suicide He was low


10 when He created you lying in bed
11 He knew what He was doing
12 He was drunk and He was high
13 and He created the mountains and the sea and fire
14 at the same time


15 He made some mistakes
16 but when He created you lying in bed
17 He came all over His Blessed Universe.

:)

 

[Charles]

Actually, Bukowski was not a cynic; instead, he was a true stoic. Much of this crucial misunderstanding was possibly a result of the confusion concerning the meaning of these two terms: cynic and stoic.

 

[skiroomalum]

Hi Charles, you aren’t growing a beard are you?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Actually, Bukowski was not a cynic; instead, he was a true stoic. Much of this crucial misunderstanding was possibly a result of the confusion concerning the meaning of these two terms: cynic and stoic.

You may be an expert on stoicism for all I know, but you are definitely not an expert on Bukowski.

 

[Charles]

I do not talk as an expert and I see no experts in here. Get serious if you care enough for Bukowski's art. The confusion is more than obvious and it concerns a series of critics and columnists, it does not concern Bukowski. In any case, in one of his interviews he had explained that he was not a cynic and that reality around him was cynical. "I've always been accused of being a cynic. I think cynicism is sour grapes. I think cynicism is a weakness.... etc...." Read also about the two terms. And afterwards reconsider. Funny kid.

 

[mjp]

Nothing says "Internet" more than an argument about the definition of words. Carry on.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

"
Definition of stoic
1capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law
2: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain"

Not at all Bukowski. The man felt more than most of us ever will...

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos). A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individual's ethical and moral well-being: "Virtue consists in a will that is in agreement with Nature."[7] This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy,"[8] and to accept even slaves as "equals of other men, because all men alike are products of nature."[9]

This is just about the opposite of Bukowski, for better or worse..

 

[skiroomalum]

Sounds more like Marcus Aurelius.