Charles Bukowski

Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski; Andernach, Germany, August 16, 1920 – San Pedro, California, March 9, 1994), American poet, novelist, and short story writer of German descent. One of the most influential representatives of the so-called dirty realism or “dirty realism”, known for his raw, autobiographical style depicting the life of the marginalized, alcoholism, poverty, sexuality, and everyday survival in Los Angeles.

He moved with his parents to the United States when he was two years old. His father was a strict and violent American soldier of German descent, and his mother was German. His childhood in Los Angeles was marked by physical abuse, which he described in the autobiographical novel Ham on Rye (1982). He studied briefly at Los Angeles City College (1939–1941), then wandered the United States doing menial jobs, drinking, and writing.

He published his first stories in the 1940s, but stopped writing for about ten years. From 1955 he began to publish poetry regularly in underground magazines. In 1969 John Martin of Black Sparrow Press offered him a monthly stipend to devote himself to writing. He worked as a postman for 14 years (described in the novel Post Office, 1971), and retired in 1970 to make a living from literature.

Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of stories, and six novels. His alter ego Henry Chinaski appears in most of his works. His style is direct, cynical, humorous, and anti-elitist – he rejects academic poetry and celebrates the “common man” at the bottom of society. He collaborated with underground publishers, and later became a cult and canonical author. The screenplay for the film Barfly (1987) with Mickey Rourke brought him wider popularity. His last novel Pulp was finished shortly before his death from leukemia.

Main works (selection): Novels: Post Office (1971), Factotum (1975), Women (1978), Ham on Rye (1982), Hollywood (1989), Pulp (1994). Poetry: Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail (1959), It Catches My Heart in Its Hands (1963), The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills (1969), Mockingbird Wish Me Luck (1972), Love Is a Dog from Hell (1977), You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense (1986). Stories: Notes of a Dirty Old Man (1969), Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness (1972), Hot Water Music (1983).

Bukowski left a deep mark on contemporary literature, music and film. It has been translated into numerous languages, including Croatian. His legacy continues to be published posthumously, and the epitaph on his grave reads: Don’t Try. He is considered the “poet of the American bottom” and the voice of authentic, untamed 20th century experience.