WWBD? (What would Buk Do?) (1 Viewer)

[bospress.net]

Hi,
I know that Buk was very non-politacal in his writing with a few exceptions. Even with pieces like Genius of the Crowd, they are general and do not really push any specific policy. He certainly had issues with hippies, for example, but was pretty liberal, politically. Other than some anti-war pieces does anyone know, of the top of their heads (or in their alphabetized file drawer) of any other blatant political pieces? I know of one anti-Nixon piece in NOADOM...

Maybe this is going in the wrong direction, but the forum has been a bit quiet lately...

Bill

 

[Olaf]

All writing is political.

Whether implicitly or explicitly.

I would say Bukowski displayed a more anarchistic bent. Self-Sufficiency. Of course individual-anarchism can only go so far and is largely laughable.

'God damn all this they have brought down upon us'

 

[HenryChinaski]

All writing is political.

not true sir

 

[Olaf]

Indeed it is true...

Even a choice not to be political, is political. When I say political I mean it in the widest sense....criticising society, social strcuture relations, to alter other peoples' ideas and perceptions. I don't think writing being political is necessarily a bad thing.

If you are interested take a read of George Orwells essay: Why I write!

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/whywrite.html

'The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.' - Orwell
:)

 

[zoom man]

I'm with Henry....
I could live quite happily without Newspapers and TV
(Probably happier than with them, actually)
But I'd still have to write
Politics be damned
I need to write

 

[Erik]

Awwwwwww come on!... wouldn't you rather be "the world's best plumber" and give up the useless scribbling??? ;)

 

[reasonknot]

screw politics
none of them are helping me stir up my beans and garlic

they are not helping me break my eggs
or cut up my onions

not to choose is to choose
who is that
getty lee

read more and more bukowski and these silly questions
answer themselves

 

[mjp]

not to choose is to choose
who is that
getty lee

If it is Geddy Lee, the sentiment is via the drummer, Neil Peart (who wrote all the lyrics) via Ayn Rand, who he (Peart) was a disciple of. Did that make any sense? Probably not. My point was, anything "deep" you got from a Rush song is watered down (or directly quoted) Rand philosophy.

 

[number6horse]

I don't think of Buk as a political poet. I see him as more of an observer of human behavior in general. He had his moments, though. Check out "Riots" (p.165 of "Sifting Through The Madness For The Word, The Line, The Way") and "The Con Job" (pp. 167-168 of "Sifting " " " " " " " " " " " ").

 

[number6horse]

Other than some anti-war pieces does anyone know, of the top of their heads (or in their alphabetized file drawer) of any other blatant political pieces?

Oops - didn't notice that disclaimer the first time around. That disqualifies "The Con Job" I"m afraid.

(Read it anyway ! :) )

 

[Crusty Harp]

No TV since 4/19/95.

 

[mjp]

Your medal is in the mail.

You'll recognize it by the engraving of the ostrich.

 

[pig ear press]

No STDs since 1/4/99!

 

[Bukfan]

Congrats! So, castration does work...

 

[pig ear press]

No. I caught impotence off of Pele.

 

[Rekrab]

I don't think of Bukowski as being an anarchist. I think he'd laugh at them as being just another bunch of true believers. Can you picture Buk occupying anything? Marching? Rioting? Throwing a molotov cocktail? Breaking a bank window. No.

 

[motorized typer]

If you are interested take a read of George Orwells essay: Why I write!

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/whywrite.html

'The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.' - Orwell
:)

I read that orwell piece a while ago. Orwell is convincing, but wrong. Better at rhetoric than at reality imo. Calling 'everything political' turns out to be a great way to politicize everything, polarize everything, contort the meaning, and probably render the meaning dogmatic. But I guess it depends what a person means by 'political.' My impression from Bill's post was that he meant 'political' in the sense of 'related to policy.' Maybe you should ask him to clarify what he meant by political, rather that generalizing to say that everything is political.

I agree with Rekrab that Bukowski wouldn't have done the things that organized anarchists do.

Olaf, how would you back up your claim that bukowski had an anarchist bent? My impression was more that Bukowski did not carry a high opinion of the government. It wasn't a categorical opinion, like an anarchist who might say that 'government in general' is shitty. It was a specific observation that he might make about a specific thing. Specificity is one of the refreshing things in bukowski, imo. My guess is that some of the magic of that comes from a person being where they are, increasingly difficult in the digital age.

 

[bospress.net]

Frankly, I cannot remember why I asked the question 6 years ago. Shit time flies....

I was a somewhat young man back then!

Bill

 

[motorized typer]

ha! not reading the dates got me good that time

 

[anarchist]

I don't think of Bukowski as being an anarchist. I think he'd laugh at them as being just another bunch of true believers. Can you picture Buk occupying anything? Marching? Rioting? Throwing a molotov cocktail? Breaking a bank window. No.

occupy-"insert bullshit cause here" are not anarchists, they're lazy modern-day hippies.

hard-core anarchists are in greece throwing fire bombs, etc

 

[mjp]

Is that what you're doing, throwing fire bombs, etc.? I hear Cote d'Azur is a real hot spot for political unrest and the anarchy of the idle and useless.

You do strike me as being very hardcore, though, I have to admit. In a fluffy kind of way.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

Okay, everybody just ease up on anarchist, he's had a rough week. He had to make his mom re sew his

patch on his jean jacket because the stitching on her first effort was way too bourgeois.

 

[esart]

There are so many types of anarchism, who's to say which one is truly the coolest anymore? They're all so damn organized, too organized to be real anarchists! Organized, collective anarchism all seeking out a stateless society becomes, in a sense, oxymoronical!

 

[mjp]

Oxymoronical, that was the name of my first band.

 

[Hosh]

That's funny--that's the same stuff I use to get my whites as white as they can be because it's safer than bleach, while still being delicate enough for my unmentionables!

 

[Digney in Burnaby]

I thought oxymoronical was the stuff Rush Limbaugh was addicted to. He's an ox, he's a moron, he's an ical.

 

[mjp]

Is he still alive?

 

[Digney in Burnaby]

Only in holograph form. His was the prototype before Tupac.

 

[anarchist]

Okay, everybody just ease up on anarchist, he's had a rough week. He had to make his mom re sew his

patch on his jean jacket because the stitching on her first effort was way too bourgeois.

that the best you got... you're fucking lame....

Is that what you're doing, throwing fire bombs, etc.? I hear Cote d'Azur is a real hot spot for political unrest and the anarchy of the idle and useless.

You do strike me as being very hardcore, though, I have to admit. In a fluffy kind of way.

as if you'd know the difference between cote d'azur and coat rack... and you're apparently too stupid to know what a public proxy is or how to use one...

va te faire enculer

Oxymoronical, that was the name of my first band.

i'm surprised you know any words more than 1 syllable.... wonders never cease

 

[hoochmonkey9]

Hey, don't take your anger out on us, your mom's the one who can 't sew. Misguided animosity is the sign of a lazy anarchist.

 

[mjp]

It took him a while to get back to us because he was busy at OCCUPY PROVENCE in the south of France.

Occupy is really big there. They all get together at a sidewalk cafe and slouch in the direction of Paris and complain that their coffee is cold. Then they saunter onto their father's yachts and cruise around with blank looks on their faces, trying to find old Gestapo officers to spread their legs for. Most of those guys are really old now though, so they usually just end up snuggling with each other under their cardigans, sipping absinthe and and trading insulting jokes about the Poles.

Did you heard about the one pollack who he couldn't find the penny in the...how you say...the circulaire room? He he he he!

I'm not kidding. I seen it on the news.

 

[jordan]

HE SAID A FRENCH SWEAR WORD HE SAID A FRENCH SWEAR WORD

 

[hoochmonkey9]

Yes, anarchist is leading a new movement: Occupy Assholes.

 

[pig ear press]

Anarchists, as far as I can tell, are basically hippies with misplaced anger issues. The Spanish Civil war was an example of people leaving their homes, and travelling abroad to fight for their beliefs without a government order. I don't see many anarchists heading to Greece, I just see a dissaffected youth fighting for their future.

 

[Bukfan]

I'll bet most of the Occupy kids who call themselves anarchists, don't know much about the anarchist ideology. For them it's just a fad waving a black flag and telling people they're "anarchists".

 

[Bruno Dante]

Don't worry, they'll drop that anarchy shit once they graduate or the trust fund runs dry.