I’m a huge fan of Bukowski, and an even bigger fan of his writing style – which was in the stream-of-consciousness vein, a la Hunter Thompson. Bukowski often said, “Don’t try,” and some would think he meant just let the words flow, don’t try to make sense of them. His wife, Linda, says it means don’t just try, but rather, DO.
“Dirty journalism” is the phrase some people use to describe Bukowski’s writing. Some of it borders on pornography (let’s just say you wouldn’t want to be reading his novel “Women“ on an airplane and have your neighbor glance down at the words). Calling it misogynistic and crude is to put his prose mildly.
His poetry, however, is quite beautiful. Here is one of my favorites from his book, “You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense“.
“There is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
a space
and even during the
best moments
and
the greatest
times
we will know it
we will know it
more than
ever
there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
and
we will wait
and
wait
in that
space.”
(The name “Hank” on the grave marker is short for Henry Charles “Hank” Chinaski, Bukowski’s literary alter ego, a character who appeared many times in Bukowski’s books).
