mjp said:
And yes, he paid around 400K, so I don't feel that bad for him.
The campaign to save Bukowski's De Longpre bungalow (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter esotouric
- Start date
And yes, he paid around 400K, so I don't feel that bad for him.
I've been flipping through books for a few days. There was sentence in a story where Bukowski said that soon enough somebody would purchase the property and he would be out. Sorry I can't find it. Resident scholars?
You guys have some wild imaginations! Theme park? Museum?? Gift shop??? Who do you think I am, Rick Caruso?
Father Luke
Founding member
I just got ANOTHER 'save delongpre' on Myspace. It's the same shit written here. Only this time the man pleading with us for help compared saving this property to global warming. That's it for me. Tear the fucker down! You think Bukowski would give two shits? I don't think so. I'm sure he'd think about it for a minute. Dash off a couple brilliant poems and you guys would be sucking them up on ebay. Good riddance.
And Sean Penn can suck a nut too....
And Sean Penn can suck a nut too....
Okay, how about you guys go down to the gas station, fill up a jerry can, grab some matches, and take care of it. Good lord.
Personally I don;t get this at all.
Sure there may be some win/win motives attached to this request , but 100 years from now it would be cool to see this place-even if it has a theme park attached.
And heres the part I like, someone else is willing to do the work. Let them.
We have a rock and roll museum for chrissakes
Sure there may be some win/win motives attached to this request , but 100 years from now it would be cool to see this place-even if it has a theme park attached.
And heres the part I like, someone else is willing to do the work. Let them.
We have a rock and roll museum for chrissakes
mjp
Founding member
Of course not everyone is enthusiastic about that either. When the Sex Pistols were told they were being inducted, this is what they sent in reply:
Next to the SEX PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. We're not coming. Your not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL.
I love that. It makes me laugh every time I read it, and I am impressed when someone walks it like they talk it. I always wondered why so many supposedly "anti-establishment" types are so quick to go pick up statues and awards.
You give up too easily.
No relationship with the bus tours? Ha. Okay. That's a clever way of dodging the issue of what the non-automotive relationship between Everett and Schave may be.
The only reason I wonder is because I found it odd that Ms. Everett became concerned with saving DeLongpre and, in looking for help with the task, sought out Mr. Schave. Did she find him in the phone book? On MySpace? He blogged about DeLongpre being on craigslist in early August, before we ever heard of Ms. Everett's involvement. Is that where she picked it up?
I promise you that the question would not have arisen (from me, anyway) if the "save DeLongpre" issue had not sprung forth from a commercial enterprise, Lost in the Grooves LLC, d/b/a Esotouric. I'm not saying that it couldn't be an organic movement, but a commercial entity pushing it casts doubt, that's all.
I don't understand that statement. I don't think anyone insinuated that the principals of Lost in the Grooves LLC, d/b/a Esotouric are getting rich. But Lost in the Grooves LLC, d/b/a Esotouric is a for-profit corporation, right?
Saving any old or historic buildings in Los Angeles is a positive thing. You and your husband appear to do a lot of good and interesting things, and I don't doubt that you do them because of your love for the city and its history.
But you can't fault me - or anyone else - for questioning motives when the people working to save certain sites are the same people who want to sell you a bus ride to go look at them (not to mention tshirts, tote bags, posters, baby clothes, refrigerator magnets, mugs, pins and drink coasters on the "Save the 76 Ball" and "Bukday" sites). It gives me mixed feelings about the issues you're championing, and I can't be the only one who feels that way.
Well, okay, I can be the only one who feels that way. I may very well be in this case. But skepticism is not only healthy, but justified whenever profit is involved.
God bless you, skeptic. If it weren't for the bus tour and Richard running through the route before the launch, it's likely that no one here, including Lauren, would know the property was in danger. Maybe it would have been sold and leveled by now.
There's no shame in seeking something back for all the hours of work we put in for this city and its landmarks and artists. In fact, if any of you reading this like what we're doing, y'all can show it by buying a 76 Ball or a Bukday t-shirt or a bunch of Scram back issues or a ticket on this Saturday's Raymond Chandler bus. Then we'll go out to dinner at a family-owned restaurant and have the strength to fight another day, and you'll have something neat to enjoy.
By the way, we won in the hearing today. Thanks for asking. And Lauren was great, as was Sara Berkowitz, who read a fine original poem about Buk to the commissioners.
There will be a call going out for others to help out with all the hard work to come on turning the De Longpre bungalow into a fitting monument to Bukowski. If you want to be part of that, please sign up on the http://5124delongpre.civicspaceondemand.org website.
It's going to be a lot of fun, hope to see you a part of it.
There's no shame in seeking something back for all the hours of work we put in for this city and its landmarks and artists. In fact, if any of you reading this like what we're doing, y'all can show it by buying a 76 Ball or a Bukday t-shirt or a bunch of Scram back issues or a ticket on this Saturday's Raymond Chandler bus. Then we'll go out to dinner at a family-owned restaurant and have the strength to fight another day, and you'll have something neat to enjoy.
By the way, we won in the hearing today. Thanks for asking. And Lauren was great, as was Sara Berkowitz, who read a fine original poem about Buk to the commissioners.
There will be a call going out for others to help out with all the hard work to come on turning the De Longpre bungalow into a fitting monument to Bukowski. If you want to be part of that, please sign up on the http://5124delongpre.civicspaceondemand.org website.
It's going to be a lot of fun, hope to see you a part of it.
mjp
Founding member
Is that a cryptic way of saying that she found out about it by reading his blog? Or is that information still top secret?
I didn't say you should be ashamed, I said attempting to profit raises doubt about your intentions. You can continue to ignore that inconvenient tidbit, but it's there, whether I bring it up or not.
I wonder though, what is the justification for "seeking something back" for "Bukday"? That is the site where you have really concentrated your efforts to sell trinkets and souvenirs. What are those buyers repaying you for?
Wow. I'll bet that poem was the highlight of their day.
That site appears to be broken. There is no link to buy anything.
Anyway, just because I'm a distrustful, contrary idiot doesn't mean that a lot of other people here aren't interested, so I'll let you get back to the infomercial, and I won't interrupt again. You know, until the next time I interrupt.
---
Congratulations to the cabal on the DeLongpre win today. Sincerely.
When it comes right down to it, I have to agree with Jimmy Snerp, that the motivation of those who save it will be irrelevant in the long run. If you're willing to do the work, may the sweet baby Jesus bless you and yours.
mjp said:
Sigh. I really don't know why this is so intreguing. I found a link to the story on Richard's blog through laist.org, which I read from time to time. The reason I started reading so many preservation blogs is because of the Lincoln Place Apartments in Venice, down the street from where I grew up. Over the last 5 years, the company has evicted over 1000 tenants, with the intent to tear down the 998 unit mid-century complex, and it made me so fucking mad I decided that I wanted to learn everything I could about city planning laws, preservation ordinances, etc. so that I could help in any way possible. They just had a huge victory in court yesterday, by the way.
Anyhow, my awareness of the De Longpre issue came out of my interest in saving another (much larger) apartment building. So there are my sinister motives, laid out before you...
Oh Right
jordan
lothario speedwagon
mjp, i have a great deal of respect for you and your opinions that i've read on this board (maybe in saying that i've just disqualified myself from having a useful perspective!!), but i've got to disagree with you here. maybe i'm younger and more idealistic, but here are my conclusions:
1. esotouric may be making its operators enough money to have a decent living, but i would sincerely doubt anyone is getting rich off of it.
2. i assumed esotouric was founded based on a passion for the literary history of LA and a desire to share that with people without also having to have a full-time job.
3. assigning the best possible motives to people, as i often do (ha!), i don't understand why a commercial venture like esotouric can't also rally to save a historic landmark and have their intentions be clean. they'll stay in business without the de longpre apartments for sure, but as history buffs, can't they have their commercial venture AND a legitimate passion for LA's history?
i mean come on... if you wanted to get rich, would literary bus tours really be your hot ticket?
1. esotouric may be making its operators enough money to have a decent living, but i would sincerely doubt anyone is getting rich off of it.
2. i assumed esotouric was founded based on a passion for the literary history of LA and a desire to share that with people without also having to have a full-time job.
3. assigning the best possible motives to people, as i often do (ha!), i don't understand why a commercial venture like esotouric can't also rally to save a historic landmark and have their intentions be clean. they'll stay in business without the de longpre apartments for sure, but as history buffs, can't they have their commercial venture AND a legitimate passion for LA's history?
i mean come on... if you wanted to get rich, would literary bus tours really be your hot ticket?
Pretty Vacant
Next to the SEX PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. We're not coming. Your not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL.
Well if you're going throw facts into the argument....
and maybe the above is whats eating a few Bukfans. I bet most here would think Buk and a few of the Pistols (well Johnny for sure) would hate the bus tour, the trinkets the win/win promotions, the Disneyfication of anything and everything-freaking Bukbirds. I know I do but I think the house is different.
I'm taking the long view. I hope 100 years from now some snot nosed kid will walk up Bukowski lane, past the Bukowski tea room, past the glow in the dark trinkets and grab a book he may not have grabbed had it not been for the shiny sign outside and get blown away by reading a line like
"but at times a fool will find a greater
fool to
admire him".
For me I don't care how he arrives as long as he gets there.
Next to the SEX PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. We're not coming. Your not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL.
Well if you're going throw facts into the argument....
and maybe the above is whats eating a few Bukfans. I bet most here would think Buk and a few of the Pistols (well Johnny for sure) would hate the bus tour, the trinkets the win/win promotions, the Disneyfication of anything and everything-freaking Bukbirds. I know I do but I think the house is different.
I'm taking the long view. I hope 100 years from now some snot nosed kid will walk up Bukowski lane, past the Bukowski tea room, past the glow in the dark trinkets and grab a book he may not have grabbed had it not been for the shiny sign outside and get blown away by reading a line like
"but at times a fool will find a greater
fool to
admire him".
For me I don't care how he arrives as long as he gets there.
Timing is everything
http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/the_sex_pistols/
http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/the_sex_pistols/
mjp
Founding member
Again, I never insinuated that anyone was getting rich.
There is a fundamental issue involved, and that is where there is profit, motivation is skewed.
That isn't an idea I pulled out of my ass. Scientists have long realized that the act of observing something inevitably changes the thing you are observing. If you want some real put-you-to-sleep literature, read about Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. That principle has been extracted out to a hundred different areas of study. Sociologists readily adopted it because they could see that observing people affects their behavior.
So you introduce a variable (like profit) into a scenario and those involved are subject to influence of the variable. It's human nature, there's nothing sinister about it.
Why do I care? Well, I have been dicking around online for more years than I care to admit to, and going way back to the early days of usenet, these interesting sociological issues have been out there for everyone to see. Forums like this one are an especially fertile ground for "back room" collusion as a form of pushing an idea forward. Here comes Joe with an idea, suddenly, three people you've never seen before are backing up and agreeing with Joe. Where did they come from? Usually they already know Joe and they are chiming in to help him make his point.
esotouric came to these forums to promote their business. Usually we frown on that, but there was interest in what they do, and it was Bukowski related, so what the hell, let it slide. When a few people expressed doubt or disinterest in the subject of DeLongpre - a subject esotouric introduced - suddenly Hindinwood appears out of nowhere to bolster esotouric's view. That made me wonder who was who, that's all.
We pretty much know who the regulars are around here and where they stand. I think that openness is a big part of what keeps this from becoming a typically tiresome "You suck and your momma's ugly!" hellhole. So I'm just curious about who everyone is.
Yawn, yawn. I know, this is boring.
Anyway, I said I have mixed feelings about what Richard and Kim do because of Esotouric, and that's my own problem. Mixed - that means good, as well as wary. I appreciate anyone's efforts to maintain what little history Los Angeles will grudgingly allow us to keep clear of the wholesale rebuild that some city planners would like to see.
I think Ken Kesey said, "You're either on the bus, or you're off the bus." So it's not just me - busses have been polarizing the god damn nation for decades!
There is a fundamental issue involved, and that is where there is profit, motivation is skewed.
That isn't an idea I pulled out of my ass. Scientists have long realized that the act of observing something inevitably changes the thing you are observing. If you want some real put-you-to-sleep literature, read about Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. That principle has been extracted out to a hundred different areas of study. Sociologists readily adopted it because they could see that observing people affects their behavior.
So you introduce a variable (like profit) into a scenario and those involved are subject to influence of the variable. It's human nature, there's nothing sinister about it.
Why do I care? Well, I have been dicking around online for more years than I care to admit to, and going way back to the early days of usenet, these interesting sociological issues have been out there for everyone to see. Forums like this one are an especially fertile ground for "back room" collusion as a form of pushing an idea forward. Here comes Joe with an idea, suddenly, three people you've never seen before are backing up and agreeing with Joe. Where did they come from? Usually they already know Joe and they are chiming in to help him make his point.
esotouric came to these forums to promote their business. Usually we frown on that, but there was interest in what they do, and it was Bukowski related, so what the hell, let it slide. When a few people expressed doubt or disinterest in the subject of DeLongpre - a subject esotouric introduced - suddenly Hindinwood appears out of nowhere to bolster esotouric's view. That made me wonder who was who, that's all.
We pretty much know who the regulars are around here and where they stand. I think that openness is a big part of what keeps this from becoming a typically tiresome "You suck and your momma's ugly!" hellhole. So I'm just curious about who everyone is.
Yawn, yawn. I know, this is boring.
Anyway, I said I have mixed feelings about what Richard and Kim do because of Esotouric, and that's my own problem. Mixed - that means good, as well as wary. I appreciate anyone's efforts to maintain what little history Los Angeles will grudgingly allow us to keep clear of the wholesale rebuild that some city planners would like to see.
I think Ken Kesey said, "You're either on the bus, or you're off the bus." So it's not just me - busses have been polarizing the god damn nation for decades!
Hell no. I would start a forum!
Okay MJP:
For the last time, I contacted Richard through his blog on De Longpre. If you would like, give me your private email address and I will forward you the correspondance. Seriously.
To explain why I am "bolstering their view" - I think the building should be saved. Kim and Richard think the building should be saved, ergo we ALL think the building should be saved. There's a mathamatical proof for you, to make it clearer. Make a ven diagram if you wish. Please prove to me now, how that in any way indicates a prior relationship. I would LOVE to hear your explanation.
Oh, the reason I "appeared out of nowhere", as you put it, is because I would prefer to spend my time READING the books I like, rather than engaging in counter-productive sniping like this forum.
Do explain. All I see is three people who are putting a lot of work into something, and then a few other people sitting on their asses being snide. No?
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
Have you read any thread on this forum that did not involve you?
Maybe that is part of the issue. You do not know the makeup of this forum as maybe you have not read other posts.
You see people as snide when their goal is also to preserve Bukowski's legacy. There are people on this forum that have been fighting to preserve Bukowski much longer than you. This forum is a prime example. When people first hear about Bukowski it is here that they come first. This forum and actually reading the books is where they get the info. They see his legacy differently than you do maybe. We have the words. The building is not that important. There are thousands of poems that are Bukowski more than a bungalow that he lived in. That is not to say that it is not important to try to save it.
That being said, I wish you all the best in your attempt at saving DeLongpre and do hope that it is a success.
I also see where others are coming from.
Bill
Maybe that is part of the issue. You do not know the makeup of this forum as maybe you have not read other posts.
You see people as snide when their goal is also to preserve Bukowski's legacy. There are people on this forum that have been fighting to preserve Bukowski much longer than you. This forum is a prime example. When people first hear about Bukowski it is here that they come first. This forum and actually reading the books is where they get the info. They see his legacy differently than you do maybe. We have the words. The building is not that important. There are thousands of poems that are Bukowski more than a bungalow that he lived in. That is not to say that it is not important to try to save it.
That being said, I wish you all the best in your attempt at saving DeLongpre and do hope that it is a success.
I also see where others are coming from.
Bill
Yes, I have read several other threads, and for the most part people seem to be having respectful intelligent deiscussions. I guess I'm just pretty shocked at some of the hostility I have encountered here. There are people who have never met me and know nothing of my character insinuating that I am involved in some kind of financial scheme with Richard and Kim, when I have put a lot of work into this, and it's something I would think other Bukowski fans would at least appreciate from afar, even if they don't want to get involved.
I understand that the philosophy of preservation isn't for everyone, and I agree, in the end the work is much more important than any building. All I know is, I would much rather that structure be there than another condo. It's a bigger picture issue for me. I think Los Angeles as a city needs to slow it way down with development, and make sure they are keeping things worth keeping, cause once it's gone it's gone.
Anyhow, it's always fine to have differing opinions with people, but that's no reason to leap to all kinds of hyperbole about gift shops and amusement parks. If MJP wanted to know what my ideal outcome for the building was, all he had to do is ask.
I appreciate your response though.
I understand that the philosophy of preservation isn't for everyone, and I agree, in the end the work is much more important than any building. All I know is, I would much rather that structure be there than another condo. It's a bigger picture issue for me. I think Los Angeles as a city needs to slow it way down with development, and make sure they are keeping things worth keeping, cause once it's gone it's gone.
Anyhow, it's always fine to have differing opinions with people, but that's no reason to leap to all kinds of hyperbole about gift shops and amusement parks. If MJP wanted to know what my ideal outcome for the building was, all he had to do is ask.
I appreciate your response though.
God I love passion!... but, I think that passion is mostly personal.. it's hard to see through this when one is so entrenched in a quest. the best that can be done is to present an idea and hope that others may find it as important and/or enlightening that they may join in the struggle. unfortunatly(sp?) by presenting ones passions one is also asking for critisisim (sorry, to drunk to spell, to lazy to look it up) I believe that if one is totally convicted to one's beliefs that no defense is necessary. no matter what the insinuations ($). Do what you feel is right, Damn the opinions. In the end whether you win or just fight a damn good battle, at least you have tried. (remember Nicholson in kook koo's nest?) and that should be enough. ok, I'm bored with this thread now... good luck with your prodject..... man, I gotta hide this keyboard when I start drinking this early in the day.....
mjp
Founding member
If you wanted the seas to part and your ass to be slathered with wet kisses of gratitude, perhaps you should have introduced yourself. Then people could have given you the accolades you so richly deserve.
See, now that's hostility! Just so you know how to identify it in the future. There is sarcasm in there too, see if you can find it.
When I read your responses I have to wonder why I bothered to type any kind of explanation of the point I was trying to get across, and how that point does or doesn't catch you in its ugly headlights.
But for anyone else still reading this, please note: I bear no ill will to the cabal! Forgive me for daring to question their pure and selfless actions!
I will buy the tshirt! I will drink the Kool-aid!
Jesus fucking christ.
Save the whales!
jordan
lothario speedwagon
i do wish that you (and by "you" i mean "kim," since i'm assuming that only one person is posting under the "esotouric" name) would post in other threads on the forum, though. the more the merrier.
also, see the above post... i helped get you another customer.
Hi All,
get ready...i'll come up with my coments later...
get ready...i'll come up with my coments later...
jordan
lothario speedwagon
okay, i'm going to respond to this, even though i told myself i wouldn't. and not because i don't think you're making a valid point, but because this has all the signature signs of a "forum spat," in which two people go on ad nauseum defending a position that becomes increasingly isolated from the original thread topic, mostly due to the lack of argumentative closure that forum posting offers (my goal is to make this a 10-page thread.. you with me, mjp?).
i liken this situation to when i worked simultaneously in the bike industry and in trail advocacy. i think your argument applies pretty well to that situation: the more trails open to ride, the more people are on bikes. the more trails near the shop where i worked, the more people will come to that shop to buy bikes. thus, working in trail advocacy was tainted (or whatever you want to call it) by my commercial interest to drive business to the store. compound that with the fact that the store maintained a presence a lot of advocacy events and handed out flyers and coupons and shit. total phonies, right?
but, beyond the store, beyond my paycheck, beyond any economic impact, the closure of a favorite trail stings much worse... honestly, the economic impacts of it are limited, since there are a whole lot of woods in LA and environs. plus, building up the advocacy platform from within the commercial structure of the bike shop allowed the shop to serve as a central meeting place for volunteers and trail workers as well. did the shop make any money off of the advocacy ventures? probably (although it put just as much if not more money into said ventures). will the esotouric bus tour be better as a result of passing buk's old apartment? yes. but a direct-marketing campaign would have been a much more lucrative use of esotouric's time than the hours put into saving this property.
okay, time for a point, for those of you that skipped to the end. you're saying that financial incentive has a necessary corrupting influence. i'm saying that preservation and advocacy work necessarily stems from a real desire to effect a positive outcome on the city, the forest, wherever.
seriously, that kind of work is such an enormous pain in the ass, it doesn't pay to get involved in it unless you really care...
now, as for the perceived lack of forum etiquette, i could see that being a sticking point for an emily-post-of-the-internet curmudgeon such as yourself.
are you preparing comments based on reading about this issue here and peoples' reactions to it?
or are you involved with the preservation effort somehow (i ask, because you registered tonight and then jumped right in on this thread).
despite my snarky comments to mjp, it probably wouldn't hurt to introduce yourself if the latter is the case.
Below is one proposal for a future use of the De Longpre property, assuming it receives landmark status and/or is purchased by someone sympathetic to preservation. Other suggestions and feedback welcome. Commercial use won't actually cut it in that neighborhood, so I wouldn't suggest putting too much time into envisioning Bukland the amusement park, much as urban LA needs more amusement parks. Did you know we once had thousands of rooftop miniature golf courses? All gone, and not likely to come again.
American author Charles Bukowski's longtime East Hollywood residence at 5124 De Longpre Avenue is currently under consideration for landmarking by the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles. If the application for historic-cultural monument status is successful, then it will be necessary to determine the building's future role in the community.
Our proposal calls for the property, which is currently vacant and boarded up, to be purchased from the current owner at market value. The four individual bungalow units and the two unit main house in back will all be renovated. The property will then be reopened as a non-profit artist's retreat.
This non-profit, which in this proposal we will call The Bukowski Bungalow Endowment, will provide free or low cost housing for period of four months to one year to two different types of creative people.
One of the bungalows and one unit in the main house will be made available for four months to established, mid-career artists in the fields of writing, photography, painting/drawing, film or theater who are interested in producing a piece of work on the subject of Los Angeles. These Bukowski Fellows will be selected by a Board of Directors based on their proposals submitted to the Bukowski Bungalow Endowment.
Two of the bungalows and one unit in the main house will be made available for one year to individuals currently working in manual labor trades, having spent at least the past five years working similar jobs, who have artistic ambitions in the fields of writing, photography, painting/drawing, film or theater. These Bukowski Fellows will be selected by the Board of Directors based on their proposals and biographies submitted to the Bukowski Bungalow Endowment. While some weight will be given to those who have worked longer at manual employment, all Fellows will be selected based on the quality and promise shown by their work.
The front bungalow, which was Charles Bukowski's residence, will be restored to the condition in which it was at the time Bukowski lived there, and will be used as a community space shared by the Bukowski Fellows, with occasional public events including but not limited to screenings, art exhibits, musical performances, etc.
At the end of their residence on De Longpre, all Bukowski Fellows will be expected to make an excerpt of their work available for publication, screening or showing to the East Hollywood community.
We believe that this property has the potential to make a lasting contribution to the cultural life of the East Hollywood community and to honor the legacy of Bukowski's great transformation from blue collar worker to literary superstar. We call on the City of Los Angeles, our local and national cultural institutions and members of the public to assist in the transformation of this boarded-up bungalow complex to a world class artistic retreat.
American author Charles Bukowski's longtime East Hollywood residence at 5124 De Longpre Avenue is currently under consideration for landmarking by the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles. If the application for historic-cultural monument status is successful, then it will be necessary to determine the building's future role in the community.
Our proposal calls for the property, which is currently vacant and boarded up, to be purchased from the current owner at market value. The four individual bungalow units and the two unit main house in back will all be renovated. The property will then be reopened as a non-profit artist's retreat.
This non-profit, which in this proposal we will call The Bukowski Bungalow Endowment, will provide free or low cost housing for period of four months to one year to two different types of creative people.
One of the bungalows and one unit in the main house will be made available for four months to established, mid-career artists in the fields of writing, photography, painting/drawing, film or theater who are interested in producing a piece of work on the subject of Los Angeles. These Bukowski Fellows will be selected by a Board of Directors based on their proposals submitted to the Bukowski Bungalow Endowment.
Two of the bungalows and one unit in the main house will be made available for one year to individuals currently working in manual labor trades, having spent at least the past five years working similar jobs, who have artistic ambitions in the fields of writing, photography, painting/drawing, film or theater. These Bukowski Fellows will be selected by the Board of Directors based on their proposals and biographies submitted to the Bukowski Bungalow Endowment. While some weight will be given to those who have worked longer at manual employment, all Fellows will be selected based on the quality and promise shown by their work.
The front bungalow, which was Charles Bukowski's residence, will be restored to the condition in which it was at the time Bukowski lived there, and will be used as a community space shared by the Bukowski Fellows, with occasional public events including but not limited to screenings, art exhibits, musical performances, etc.
At the end of their residence on De Longpre, all Bukowski Fellows will be expected to make an excerpt of their work available for publication, screening or showing to the East Hollywood community.
We believe that this property has the potential to make a lasting contribution to the cultural life of the East Hollywood community and to honor the legacy of Bukowski's great transformation from blue collar worker to literary superstar. We call on the City of Los Angeles, our local and national cultural institutions and members of the public to assist in the transformation of this boarded-up bungalow complex to a world class artistic retreat.
chronic
old and in the way
I'll donate the empty beer cans.
jordan
lothario speedwagon
while terms like "bukowski fellows" and "bukowski endowment" make me cringe, i think this is a fantastic idea (and i see the utility of those terms from a pragmatic edge).
and here, i was waiting for the proposal to earmark the property as the new corporate headquarters of Esotouric, Inc. and its army of buses.
and here, i was waiting for the proposal to earmark the property as the new corporate headquarters of Esotouric, Inc. and its army of buses.
Father Luke
Founding member
Los Angeles Times lead editorial asks "How to Commemorate Bukowski?"
How to commemorate Bukowski?
The literary anti-hero's apartment may become a landmark, but how do you memorialize such a dark icon?
September 22, 2007
Devotees and detractors of poet and novelist Charles Bukowski can agree on at least one thing: that he was a quintessentially Los Angeles writer. His gruff chronicling of the hard-knock life -- mostly his own, indirectly -- depicted the city in which he lived (for nearly all of his 73 years), loved (to put it gently) and drank (a lot).
Now the city has a chance to lay official claim to its local anti-hero by declaring a bungalow apartment Bukowski once rented a historic landmark. Memorializing the residence -- where, over a decade, the postal worker became a professional writer -- makes sense, even if it's a contrarian way to remember a man whose gravestone reads "Don't try."
The city's Cultural Heritage Commission, along with the City Council, will make a final decision on whether the site merits historic designation in about 60 days. The case seems to be a strong one. Bukowski wrote his first novel there and used it as the setting for another; he referred to the address in one poem ("5124 De Longpre Avenue/ somewhere between/ alcoholism and/ madness"); and mostly, he lived his hard life there.
Bukowski was -- despite the fame, the movie-star friends, the imitation of his life and style by would-be poets -- too brutally honest to be glamorous, a quality that gives much Los Angeles noir a slick sheen quite distinct from Bukowski's grit. If noir subverted Los Angeles' official narrative of sunshine, Bukowski subverted noir and gave the city's image another, darker dimension.
It's not easy to memorialize such a milieu. How does a city preserve its underbelly? And isn't its preservation better accomplished in Bukowski's well-read works? He mapped his Los Angeles in great detail, in fiction and life. His fans can list his many addresses. They know that the Central Library is where he was inspired to become a writer; that he turned his toil at the Terminal Annex Post Office into a novel; that he made bets at the Santa Anita racetrack, drank at Musso & Frank and died in San Pedro.
To pick one place to officially associate with the man would seem to limit his legacy. But it's still a good way for his hometown to honor him. And Bukowski would certainly enjoy the irony. As he wrote in his poem "Crucifix in a Deathhand":
real estaters, subdividers, landlords, freeway
engineers arguing. This is their land and
I walk on it, live on it a little while.
Now 5124 De Longpre, and the rest of Los Angeles, could be considered Bukowski's land.
LINK
How to commemorate Bukowski?
The literary anti-hero's apartment may become a landmark, but how do you memorialize such a dark icon?
September 22, 2007
Devotees and detractors of poet and novelist Charles Bukowski can agree on at least one thing: that he was a quintessentially Los Angeles writer. His gruff chronicling of the hard-knock life -- mostly his own, indirectly -- depicted the city in which he lived (for nearly all of his 73 years), loved (to put it gently) and drank (a lot).
Now the city has a chance to lay official claim to its local anti-hero by declaring a bungalow apartment Bukowski once rented a historic landmark. Memorializing the residence -- where, over a decade, the postal worker became a professional writer -- makes sense, even if it's a contrarian way to remember a man whose gravestone reads "Don't try."
The city's Cultural Heritage Commission, along with the City Council, will make a final decision on whether the site merits historic designation in about 60 days. The case seems to be a strong one. Bukowski wrote his first novel there and used it as the setting for another; he referred to the address in one poem ("5124 De Longpre Avenue/ somewhere between/ alcoholism and/ madness"); and mostly, he lived his hard life there.
Bukowski was -- despite the fame, the movie-star friends, the imitation of his life and style by would-be poets -- too brutally honest to be glamorous, a quality that gives much Los Angeles noir a slick sheen quite distinct from Bukowski's grit. If noir subverted Los Angeles' official narrative of sunshine, Bukowski subverted noir and gave the city's image another, darker dimension.
It's not easy to memorialize such a milieu. How does a city preserve its underbelly? And isn't its preservation better accomplished in Bukowski's well-read works? He mapped his Los Angeles in great detail, in fiction and life. His fans can list his many addresses. They know that the Central Library is where he was inspired to become a writer; that he turned his toil at the Terminal Annex Post Office into a novel; that he made bets at the Santa Anita racetrack, drank at Musso & Frank and died in San Pedro.
To pick one place to officially associate with the man would seem to limit his legacy. But it's still a good way for his hometown to honor him. And Bukowski would certainly enjoy the irony. As he wrote in his poem "Crucifix in a Deathhand":
real estaters, subdividers, landlords, freeway
engineers arguing. This is their land and
I walk on it, live on it a little while.
Now 5124 De Longpre, and the rest of Los Angeles, could be considered Bukowski's land.
LINK
mjp
Founding member
Thanks for the heads up. I will spend the rest of the evening getting ready for your comments.
I may be going a off-topic here, but I've seen both the Ibsen and Strindberg (cool author!) apartments in Oslo & Stockholm, and they're alright. Worth a visit if you're interested in the author. The Ibsen one has a shop, but its a far cry from Disneyland. And I confess: I bought a t-shirt!
One funny thing about Ibsen, there's a full scale replica of him there: the guy was tiny - a runt!
Imagine seeing a full scale replica of Buk leering at you from a glass monitor!
:D
Sure these places are touristy, but they do a lot of free work for schools & such as well. They need the extra money. And they are not run on a Disney-like profit basis.
You can have a taste of what they've done with Ibsen here: http://www.exploreibsen.com/
One funny thing about Ibsen, there's a full scale replica of him there: the guy was tiny - a runt!
Imagine seeing a full scale replica of Buk leering at you from a glass monitor!
Sure these places are touristy, but they do a lot of free work for schools & such as well. They need the extra money. And they are not run on a Disney-like profit basis.
You can have a taste of what they've done with Ibsen here: http://www.exploreibsen.com/
