I am a huge fan of Bukowski as are most people. But after watching the documentary on his life, I have some questions. Bono loves Bukowski. So does Sean Penn. What is the protocol on liking things huge tools also enjoy? Then again, Tom Waits loves Bukowski. So. What do I do? I mean, Bukowski was a douchebag too. But I didnt know he associated with other douchebags. Man I am so lost. I learned a lot more about the work of Bukowski by watching Born into This but I have no clue, as a hipster, if I should be a part of this culture. I personally love Bukowski, but this is more about my image than it is what I read. Should I stop reading Bukowski, or should I stop reading Bukowski openly?
Maybe Bukowski can help me through this moment.
with his awful teeth
this dog Sadness is gnawing at me
again.
I sit in this room with a big hole
chewed in my
side.
all I want are some gentle moments
to fall like soft
raindrops.
they will not arrive.
this dog Sadness is a persistent
mongrel.
he finds me so often these days,
again and again.
he is here with me now.
“go on,” he growls, “write your
poem about me,
it won’t make me go
away.”
he’s right.
I stop and look at my
wristwatch,
follow the second hand around and around.
it leads me nowhere.
I am trapped here with this sad dog.
I make small movements,
light a cigarette,
rattle a box of
paper clips.
nothing changes.
this dog of Sadness
continues to
sit here with
me,
feeding greedily.
he is getting quite
fat.
you want a pet,
my friend?
I’ll give him to you right
now
along with this
poem!
if only
you would
be kind enough to
take him away,
this
Sad
dog.
Trudi Goodman
12/14/2010
I always have thought of Bukowski as an Antisemitic Misogynist prick. Am I wrong? Great art does not excuse a live badly lived and badly acted out upon people.
The Duckman
12/14/2010
Bukowski was a man that didnt care for much. As he put it in Post Office, I want the world or nothing. I dont really see him as an anti-semite. I see him as a man that just doesnt give a shit. Or as you put it, a prick.
You would think that Bukowski was a Misogynist through his writing. And in a way, you have some valid points. But two big moments happened in this movie that would persuade you otherwise. One moment is when he remembers an ex girlfriend that he loved and starts breaking down just thinking about the memories. The other moment is during an interview where he destroys his interviewee over his questions about how he treats women.
The way that I see it was illustrated in a short story written by Jonathan Ames. I haven’t read it in a year, and can be completely wrong about it, but its more about the idea. Ames was talking to a female roommate of his, when the subject of Bukowski came up. His roommate mentioned how she wished she went and visited Bukowski when he was still alive so that she could fuck him.
I am not sure if you have ever seen what Bukowski looks like, but he isnt the best looking of people. The thing is, girls love him. Girls love to be ‘abused’ by him, and love the lifestyle he had. Yes, they got sick of his antics. Yes, they ended up disliking him and wanting a more stable relationship. But it is in my opinion that the girls in his life and in his stories knew what kind of douchebag he was. They knew and they loved it, only hoping to change him.
Living badly is only in the eye of the beholder. What puts artists in the spotlight is when they push the boundaries of what others consider ‘living badly.’ Why? Because we all have a desire to live vicariously through someone much different then us.
Mike Niemeyer
12/14/2010
That’s weird. I just watched that documentary maybe five days ago. I still need to read “Hot Water Music.” Though he was mostly a drunkard and not exactly the ideal of respect for women, I thought there was tenderness beneath his rough exterior. The acne scene one person describes makes me want to read “Ham on Rye.” So, yeah, he’s a bit of a creepy person, but him throwing the mail and having to be beaten with a razor strop was engaging.
Daz
01/25/2011
I think Bukowski was just as big a mr-sogynist as a Misogynist, he just hated people full stop. Even from a young age, re Ham on Rye. I doubt he would consider religion as a valid entity also….