When did you discover Bukowski? (3 Viewers)

can't recall now, that was loooooong ago. maybe Notes or Erections. way back then B's poetry wasn't translated into Spanish and I couldn't read English then, so the only available stuff was the fiction. now we have 3-4 books of poetry available, but I don't need them because I'd rather read them in English. I'm a professional translator and I know what's "lost" during the trip from England/U.S. to Spain :D
 
Hot water music. I read first story and I thought "No no, I wanted read this bullshit. It's so dirty." I read earlier Roland Topor and sex or dirty words in book was something new for me. Like from space. I put Hot water music under the table and after two weeks I read this in one night. I don't know why, I read one story and I just must read next. It was incredible! :)
 
Women.
I remember the quote that won me over: "Then I went out and puked in the rose bed. A gusher in the moonlight." (or some such...)
Still makes me chuckle :rolleyes:
 
cirerita said:
I'm a professional translator and I know what's "lost" during the trip from England/U.S. to Spain :D
Funny you should say that. I had correspondence with someone from Austria who said Carl Weissner's translations (the ones that put Bukowski on the international map) are simplistic and riddled with errors. The "official" biography printed in the back of every book lists such jobs as sports-reporter(?) and pimp(!). So you have to wonder what he did to the poetry and prose.
 
Sifting Through the Madness. I bought it at the George State library. And I the first poem I remember reading of his, and the first I probably ever read, was one that I can't remember the title, but I do remember he's reading a book review or something and then Buk gets up, runs to the crapper, and takes the best dump he's ever taken in years.

I laughed out loud when I finished it and I remember thinking "this old man won't let me down."
 
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame.
And then I reread it. And in the morning I went out and bought all I could.
 
hoochmonkey9 said:
And in the morning I went out and bought all I could.
That's funny, shortly after reading Bukowski for the first time I went out and snatched up all I could find too. Which, of course, becomes quite a few books on through the years if you keep up the hunt.

Is that a common experience among others here?
 
You can get lesser quality copies of some of the rare, older books for a lot less than perfect "collector" copies.

My copy of It Catches My Heart In Its Hands is ex-library, so the cork covers are missing, and it's bound in a generic leather library binding. Since it isn't a perfect example of the book, I was able to buy it for less than $200, which is a fraction of what a nice copy goes for.

Same thing with Fire Station - I found a copy that had a stain on the cover and a couple of creases, so it was very affordable.

To me it's the words anyway, not the covers. I always thought the LouJon books were too damn fancy and precious. I have a nice copy of Crucifix in a Deathhand, and people are afraid to touch it. But I whip out the funky library copy of It Catches and no one feels like they need to wear white gloves to read it. ;)
 
Love is a Dog From Hell,..... I remember I was in San Fran the year Buk died, and had never heard of him..... Was bumming out over a failed love, and walked in this used book store, and started looking at authors alphabetically..... and loved the title,... said the author was alive and well in San Pedro, and for the next few years, I always bought Buk books used (b/c i think that is the way he would have wanted it) and they all of course said he was alive!..... Needless to say, I was shocked and felt like an idiot come some 5 years + later, when I learned he was dead.... Then I decieded to only buy copies of his books that said he was alive! Toast,
 
zoom man said:
Then I decieded to only buy copies of his books that said he was alive!
Oh man, now that's funny. I just read it to my girlfriend and laughed out loud again.
 
mine was Women...It was given to me by my brother before I left San Francisco. I read it on the bus ride back to Texas. I had lived a fairly sheltered life up until that point. I had never read anything like it before. I kept looking around to make sure that no one was reading over my shoulder. I felt so dirty! No other author has ever inspired me that way.
 
You Get So Alone

Mine was You Get So Alone ? a friend handed me a copy and I read the first few poems ? after finishing Red Mercedes I remember thinking that this is what I imagined poetry could be, this is what I wanted it to be after the poetry I had been exposed to in my 18 years living mostly in Ireland. I ran out and bought all the short stories and novels and Buk quickly became one of my favourite writers. I didn?t come back to the poetry for some time, something which after years of therapy I have finally been able to forgive myself for. I then revisited my independent bookshop in Belfast, Bookshop at Queens, and spent money made, borrowed or stole on Buk?s poetry and haven?t looked back ? great forum, great site, loads of great info, thanks to all concerned.
 
Thanks bmcg. It's a great site because of contributions from a lot of people, and this forum is great because of everyone here, so don't be a stranger.
 
Days Run Away

I was a freshman at University of Southern Maine in Portland and a guy in my German language class handed me a copy of The Days Run Away.... I read it in like a couple of hours and went straight to the school library where much to my surprise they had several by Bukowski and so I immediately checked out South of No North, Mockingbird Wish Me Luck. From then on, I started to buy them and no matter how poor I was (and I was usually very very poor) I always found enough for the latest BSP paperback release. Years later, I began collecting signed limited editions. I know this sounds crazy, but I never read those. I buy a paperback version to read.
 
MarkDB said:
Years later, I began collecting signed limited editions. I know this sounds crazy, but I never read those. I buy a paperback version to read.
Most people who buy signed editions probably do the same thing. I kind of prefer reading paperbacks anyway. It's more comfortable, especially if you are laying on a couch, or a life raft or a featherbed. You know.
 
another student in a sophomore college creative writing class said to me that he liked bukowski's novels but not his poems. and there was only the two at the time, i think. anyhow, i didn't know who bukowski was and something about how the guy said it made me think it was a put down of the stuff i did for the class. so i remembered the name and went and found post office, then for the next couple years read everything i could get my hands on at any college or city library that i could get to easily or could borrow via a library's network system; which turned out to be quite a bit, i've been filling in the rest over the years.
 
I remember standing in a musty, cramped bookstore on the "main drag" of Bar Harbor, ME last summer while I was on a family vacation. I always scan the poetry sections of bookstores for interesting things I'd never seen, and I'm surprised it took me so long to find Bukowski. I forget exactly which book it was, but I distinctly remember reading that poem about the literary critic's article followed by the "best shit" of his life or something; also remember the one about sitting out on his roof and wanting to fly, finally trying it one day by jumping off and breaking his ankle, only to have his father hit him with the strop when he came home because they "can't afford fucking doctors."
I was hooked on those two poems alone.

Charlie said:
Sifting Through the Madness. I bought it at the George State library. And I the first poem I remember reading of his, and the first I probably ever read, was one that I can't remember the title, but I do remember he's reading a book review or something and then Buk gets up, runs to the crapper, and takes the best dump he's ever taken in years.

I laughed out loud when I finished it and I remember thinking "this old man won't let me down."
 
Just curious, who is the youngest member on this board? Just curious to see if there are any other young readers reading Bukowski like myself. I am only 16 years old. But anyways, the first book of his I read was Post Office and then I went on to read Play The Piano Drunk... and I just recently finished Factotum and I am looking for some money to scrape up so I can buy Women and read it so I can finish the Henry Chinaski Trilogy...
 
run with the hunted back in 95'. who the hell is this guy? laughed my ass off. got alot to go..
 
Full Collapse said:
Just curious, who is the youngest member on this board?
I think we have a few relatively young users, but we'll have to see if anyone younger than 16 cares to answer...
 
wish i was sixteen again. do your parents know what your reading? if they dont you better tell them their missing out!
 
Hahaha, my mom is a huge a reader but, she's into the sci-fi dragon slaying stuff and a little bit of the romance stuff. I don't know if she will really approve or even like this kind of stuff, haha.
 
First one I read was Post Office which I roared through. I'd never read anything like it before. Immediately followed it with Factotum, South of No North, Ham on Rye, Women etc. etc. Somewhere in there I also started on the poetry and I've never looked back. I even got into John Fante via a reference in one of Bukowski's books (although I can't remember which one at the moment). I can honestly say that I've read Ham on Rye and Women both about twelve times a piece. They both resonate with so much vigor that I always find something new.
 
I did the same thing, reading the novels and short stories first. I didn't think I would like the poetry. Heh.
 
I grabbed Pulp, and my boyfriend found me on page 2 and was like "no no no no dont read that, read *this*" and handed me Ham on Rye. And then I read everything. Except, now looking at the bookcase, Pulp. WTF?
Ed, the boyf who set me on buk, actually doesnt like the poetry but I eat all of it with relish. and horseradish.
For dinner I had chicken stew, lovingly provided by my parents as I painted a mural in their house. Thanks for asking. Yes I read that silly banner. Freak.
 
mjp said:
That's funny, shortly after reading Bukowski for the first time I went out and snatched up all I could find too. Which, of course, becomes quite a few books on through the years if you keep up the hunt.

Is that a common experience among others here?

Yes! but most likely on a smaller scale than most. Budget and shopping habits come into play most often. I hate *looking* for books, i like when they find me. So I guess you could say I've bought every Buk book that I've had the fortune to stumble accross. Which is really quite a few ~ I'm always poking around used bookstores.
 
HenryChinaski said:
i wish i would've found out about buk back when i was sixteen. i would've been such a badass.

OMG I just snorted coffee. That's hillarious. And *so* true.
I'm probably close in line after our 16-year-old, I'm 24.
 
every day ithink ill see something new, knuckleheads, ill just go to sleep for a weekor two. bye.
 

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