On Writing by Charles Bukowski (PDF)

Description

Sharp and moving reflections and ruminations on the artistry and craft of writing from one of our most iconoclastic, riveting, and celebrated masters.Charles Bukowski’s stories, poems, and novels have left an enduring mark on our culture. In this collection of correspondence—letters to publishers, editors, friends, and fellow writers—the writer shares his insights on the art of creation.On Writing reveals an artist brutally frank about the drudgery of work and canny and uncompromising about the absurdities of life—and of art. It illuminates the hard-edged, complex humanity of a true American legend and counterculture icon—the “laureate of American lowlife” (Time)—who stoically recorded society’s downtrodden and depraved. It exposes an artist grounded in the visceral, whose work reverberates with his central ideal: “Don’t try.”Piercing, poignant, and often hilarious, On Writing is filled not only with memorable lines but also with Bukowski’s trademark toughness, leavened with moments of grace, pathos, and intimacy.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Another winner from the accomplished Abel DeBritto.Lotsa good stuff in this volume. What some of the youngerscribes don’t get, though, is that Buk did not write drunk . . .he drank while writing, but would knock off once he wasplastered, because, you see, otherwise you end up withcrap.Got that, homey? The other thing is Buk was great at hypingthat image, of the hard-drinking scribe. You’ve seen the photos:Chinaski pouring brew down his throat. The one image that sticks out,more than any other, is Bukowski on that French tv program, taking a great hitfrom the wine bottle.That was show, dudes. Hype. Premeditated. Pushed his sales through theroof in France (& other countries in Europe).Anyway, want to drink? Stick to beer. Otherwise, you end up like Hemingway . . .or some of the others, going off the deep end. Not that there is anything the matterwith that . . . if that’s your goal.Anyway, Mr. DeBritto’s book was worth reading. Bought it used. I wouldn’t pay $16.99for it. (That’s what the US publisher is asking.)

⭐”A writer is not a writer because he has written some books. A writer is not a writer because he teaches literature. A writer is only a writer if he can write now, tonight, this minute.”What I noticed the most, especially from the first batch of Bukowski’s letters, is that he never gave up. He never gave up writing, he never gave up sending his poems or novels to publishing houses, and he never doubted himself. He wrote and wrote and submitted and submitted and never once quit or gave up because he didn’t get accepted. And that right there is the key to doing what you want for the rest of your life.These personal letters were more like poems and prose that was meant to be seen. Even the man’s letters to friends, fellow writers, agents, and publishers are entertaining. If you’re a fan of Charles Bukowski, I highly recommend this book.

⭐The man, the writer, the legend. Here contained within pages of correspondence with various editors of little magazines is the hard earned wisdom of a man that had intimately known failure and yet he powered on and on, often with little or no reward, until finally success was his. He certainly did it in his own inimitable fashion, often while intoxicated, but here is advice for writers that was hard won. You may have to sift through some pages of obscure nonsense while Bukowski wafts on and on, but there is no doubt that the man certainly knew his craft. The one and the only Charles Bukowski; a man that gave guided tours through the gutters but ultimately he made it out alive. He is sadly missed.

⭐Very good read. Not my first Charles Bukowski book though.

⭐As a hard core Bukowski fan and writer, I was looking forward to this new book. As soon as I opened it, I was disappointed because it mostly contains letters he wrote to others from 1959 to 1993 along with a few reproduced illustrations and posed photos of an older Bukowski. I’ve read most of Bukowski’s sizable collection of letters, published in three earlier books. It was a sometimes interesting but otherwise tedious exercise. His letter writing, while admittedly under the influence, is nowhere near as clear and sharp reading as his poems and short stories.According to Abel Debritto, CBOW’s editor and also a Bukowski biographer, these are letters are unpublished until now. It seems to me the person to whom the letters were addressed (Henry Miller, Fante, Ferlinghetti and others literary notables important to Bukowski’s career) are more important here. There’s very little about writing in most of the letters. The most germane letter to the book’s title doesn’t appear until 1983, and the good news is there are more direct references to writing in the years’ more concise letters that follow.Bukowski often sounded off in interviews about writers, writing and the profession. I was hoping to find more of the latter in CBOW rather than “…some of the most passionate letters Bukowski ever wrote, and this volume of correspondence is as easily compelling as any other of his collections.” Does Delbritto mean his other books of letter collections or something else? This book, and others like coming forth this year and next are to commemorate what would have been Hank’s 95th birthday this year. Instead of buying the repackaged works, I think we’d all be better off remembering him with Black Sparrow book of his poems and bottle of good wine.

⭐I thought it was going to be poems, like the other books I’ve purchased. But it was more like essays, random parts of his life thrown together

⭐Un texto sincero,Escudriñar la mente de un maestro a través de su correspondencia nos permite descubrir el funcionamiento de una de las grandes mentes del siglo XXAlways love me some Bukowski… but… This book is not about writing. It is a collection of letters to different friends and editors. I was hoping for a more forward examination of the craft. Each letter might contain some tidbit about how hard writing is… how bad some other authors are… how miserable his life has been… how drinking, writing, sex, and horse races are the only real pleasures in his life, but, I suspect, if you’re already a Bukowski fan, you already know this.

⭐Let’s be clear on what this book is not. This is not a treatise on how one should write or even ‘life according to Charles Bukowski’ with a little writing thrown in. If you are reading this for insight into improving your own writing style or process you will be in for a disappointing time.If you are a fan of Bukowski, his life and his writing this offers a different window into the man and the correspondence he shared with editors, publishers and other writers does build up an impression of a creative and artistic soul.The correspondence is put down in a chronological fashion, which makes sense, there has been little attempt to posthumously force an unnatural narrative from the collection which does bring a sense of honesty to the book. What is there has been curated well but it is certainly a book for those who are familiar with Bukowski’s work. If you are not, I’d suggest picking up some of his novels or poetry collections first. If you are a fan already then you’re already sold on the book regardless of this or any other review.

⭐I do not personally subscribe to the popularised culture of the death of the author; in my opinion, context enriches and adds a world of relevance, an extra dimension, to the texts that writers leave behind. If you like mystifying the man behind the pen, making an image of Bukowski purely based on his published works and receiving only what he gives, this book is not for you. Similarly, if you are a first time reader of Bukowski and would prefer to meet his poetry before meeting him, I would not recommend –– taking this on would be like diving into the deep end.Despite the unsettling feeling of creeping on Bukowski’s seemingly mundane activities, akin to a pesky fly on the wall, I love this book. There are moments of such clarity, beauty and self awareness contrasted with grit, fatigue and self loathing. It’s honest and real and the closest thing we have to truly learning about the potty-mouthed poet; Bukowski comments on his work and process like an old friend throughout. If anything, you walk away feeling the passion of his love for writing and understanding the struggle he had in reconciling this with bad habits and an unwilling world. This is not simply business correspondences, there is poetry and prose hidden in between the lines and breathtaking philosophical comments. Very reflective. I’m not a Bukowski super-fan by any means, but I can appreciate this. I think that whether you like this or not will boil down to meta-literary arguments about how you read texts and what you aim to get from them. Personally, I loved this.

⭐I mean it’s more a blog post than a book. I don’t know. Just not quite what I was expecting

⭐Accurate description, quick arrival

⭐Very entertaining whilst I read it.

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