Bukowski’s many and varied affairs and relationships provided material for his stories and poems. In 1976, Bukowski met Linda Lee Beighle, a devotee of Meher Baba. Two years later Bukowski moved from the East Hollywood area to the harborside community of San Pedro, the southernmost district of Los Angeles. Beighle followed him and they lived together intermittently for a couple of years. They were eventually married by, Manly Palmer Hall, a Canadian-born mystic referred to as "Sarah" in Bukowski's novels Women and Hollywood. Pop punk band The Wonder Years mention Bukowski in their song "Woke up Older" on the 2011 album Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing. The Volcano Choir song "Alaskans" features a recording of Bukowski reading a poem on French television. [47] Guide to the Charles Bukowski Manuscript. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2013-08-29 20:25:29 Bookplateleaf 0004 Boxid IA1181602 City New York Donor

By 1960, Bukowski was once again working for the post office in Los Angeles and did so for more than a decade. In 1962, Bukowski worked on a series of poems and stories lamenting the death of Jane Cooney Baker, his first “real love”. On July 22, 1944, with the war ongoing, Bukowski was arrested by FBI agents in Philadelphia, where he lived at the time, on suspicion of draft evasion. At a time when the U.S. was at war with Nazi Germany, and many Germans and German-Americans on the home front were suspected of disloyalty, Bukowski's German birth troubled authorities. He was held for seventeen days in Philadelphia's Moyamensing Prison. Sixteen days later, he failed a psychological examination that was part of his mandatory military entrance physical test and was given a Selective Service Classification of 4-F (unfit for military service). Strange as it may seem, I related to this book more than anything I've read before. That's why I like it. That's why I read. I'm always looking for books that can put my own feelings into words. I don't agree with people saying this book is full of "misogyny." I'm not even sure they know what that word means. I've yet to find a female author's work that resonated with me half as much. American band Red Hot Chili Peppers reference Bukowski and his works in several songs; singer Anthony Kiedis has stated that Bukowski is a big influence on his writing. [ citation needed] Most of the bitches in his books deserved to be treated like shit. Or wanted to be treated like shit. Because that's how women are sometimes.

Famous poets ( ranked #1 )

One of the first women featured in the book, who also recurred throughout the novel through random phonecalls and thoughts, is a character named Lydia Vance; she is based on Bukowski's one-time girlfriend, the sculptor and sometime poet Linda King. Chinaski's last face-to-face encounter with Lydia ended with her breaking into his house, destroying his paintings and books, and being arrested by police shortly afterwards; Chinaski refused to press charges, because Lydia had children she was struggling for custody for, and the charge would reflect negatively on that. But as soon as she was released, she called and threatened Chinaski again.

So why did I like Women at all? I guess because he does tell the truth, and writes that truth in a still interesting way in places: Young Bukowski spoke English with a strong German accent and was taunted by his childhood playmates with the epithet "Heini," German diminutive of Heinrich, in his early youth. He was shy and socially withdrawn, a condition exacerbated during his teen years by an extreme case of acne. [18] Neighborhood children ridiculed his accent and the clothing his parents made him wear. The Great Depression bolstered his rage as he grew, and gave him much of his voice and material for his writings. [19] Bukowski also performed live readings of his works, beginning in 1962 on radio station KPFK in Los Angeles and increasing in frequency through the 1970s. Now finally, Though I will remain a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, regarding my mandate on the content of this book, yet I will utter an indispensable fact in the end that will do justice to Charles Bukowski. Bukowski’s short story, "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip," was published in, Story Magazine, when he was 24. Two years later "20 Tanks from Kasseldown", another short story, was published in Issue III of, Portfolio; however, Bukowski grew disillusioned with the publication process and quit serious writing for almost a decade in what he termed his "ten-year drunk". This period formed the basis for later semi-autobiographical chronicles, fictionalized versions of Bukowski's life through his alter-ego, Henry Chinaski.Chinaski (and persumably Bukowski) was a swine with no respect towards anything, and I truly believe he shouldn't be half as popular as he is. Throughout the novel, Chinaski is asked his favorite novelist many times. The first time he responds with Knut Hamsun, and later avers that he was deliberately misleading the questioner with a false answer, to see if the interviewer was smart enough to ask a followup (in which they failed). Elsewhere, he responds, "Fante." John Fante was a major influence on Bukowski. [4] But at the end, Bukowski was able to recommend favorite authors at least four times, without finally concluding on any one as best of bests. That was the first and last time I have ever shopped at Victoria's Secret. My friend , Erika, has to remind to me wear bras to this day. Oh, I don’t mean you’re handsome, not the way people think of handsome. Your face seems kind. But your eyes – they’re beautiful. They’re wild, crazy, like some animal peering out of a forest on fire. God, something like that. I’m not very good with words.'”