Writer's Corner

Charles Bukowski

Born in August of 1920, Henry Charles Bukowski is a Los Angeles Poet and an honorary beat. He was published extensively in small literary publication makes some of his work difficult to find, but he has had many collections published recently. Bukowski never socialized with any of the Beat writers, but it is his style and content that has him included in the genre. After being first published in the 1940's, Bukowski gave up writing for nearly 20 years before return to gone to a prolific career.

Consistenly on the verge of death or insanity, he died on Leukemia in 1994. The inscription on his tombstone reads, "Don't Try". This is what he told many a young writer looking for advice. He was a well-known alcoholic, and womanizer as depicted in the 1983 film "Tales of Ordinanry Madness". He currently has over 40 books in print.

Here is a selection of his work from Poem Hunter (139 poems).