Bukowski and the Beats: A Commentary on the Beat Generation [Paperback]

Jean-Francois Duval (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Literary Nonfiction. Commentary. Interviews. Translated from the French by Alison Ardron. There are several reasons for this book. The principle one is pleasure—the pure joy of returning to Charles Bukowski and to the Beats, by dipping into their legend—particularly since the Beat movement is now enjoying a lively revival of attention through new editions, appearances of previously unpublished material, exhibitions, and other events. There is also the pleasure of rediscovering Charles Bukowski, cult author whose reputation continues to grow steadily all over the world. The full drama of his humor, of his angers, memories, frustrations, and distinctive grace come to life during Jean-François Duval's long interview with Buk: An Evening at Buk's Place. The pleasure also consists of having a close look at the links and contradictions between Bukowski and the Beat constellation.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite Charles Bukowski's (1920-94) best efforts to distance himself from the Beats, the author of Women, Ham on Rye, and numerous other collections of poetry and fiction seems unable to escape their orbit. Closely examining Bukowski's life and work, Swiss journalist Duval explores both his historical and his thematic links to the Beats as well as the philosophical and aesthetic differences that separate them. He includes interesting anecdotes about Bukowski's meetings with several Beats, including Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. The translation of this work reads smoothly, and the text is enlivened by a generous selection of photographs and illustrations. Duval also includes "An Evening at Buk's Place," his lively interview with Bukowski and his wife, Linda. There is an extensive bibliography and a brief Beat generation "who's who." Shedding new light on Bukowski's complex relationship to the Beat generation, Duval's book should delight both Bukowski fans and Beat scholars. Highly recommended. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib, CUNY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sun Dog Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941543307
• ISBN-13: 978-0941543309
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Los Angeles Times Book Review is right!, July 11, 2002

By 

Ray Smith (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bukowski and the Beats: A Commentary on the Beat Generation (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Jonathan Kirsch is perfectly right when he writes in The Los Angeles Times Book Review of Sunday, June 2: «Bukowski and the Beats» is full of affection and admiration for Bukowski, but Duval brings a sharp edge and a smart take to his work, which is composed of biography, literary criticism and cultural history in equal measure». As an echo to Kerouac's lyrical motto «the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk», Bukowski states: «Thank the gods that the first 50 years of my life were spent with the Blue Collars and the truly mad, the truly beaten.» However, Bukowski was a beneficiary of the Beats in more than one sense, as Duval points out. «Bukowski and the Beats» is also great fun, for instance when it shows Bukowski joining a 1974 Beat tour that featured Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti and Gary Snyder. The book also contains photos I had never seen, and one of the best interview with Bukowski that I have ever read.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An excuse to publish a mediocre interview, October 17, 2003

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bukowski and the Beats: A Commentary on the Beat Generation (Paperback)

Bukowski wasn't a Beat. He didn't like the Beats, either. In this book, the author scrounges up every reference he can find by Bukowski about Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Cassady. All of these references are *negative*.

So why publish a book about Bukowski and the Beats? Well, the author has this long interview with Bukowski and his wife. He needs a book idea as an excuse to publish the interview. He knows a lot about the Beats, so he spends the first three-quarters of the book trying to find a connection. There are a few connections --- the period in which Bukowski and Beats wrote, their unapologetic drug use, their wild sex lives, and trying to get their non-conformist writing published --- but Bukowski didn't like them and wasn't one of them.

So you have a book in two parts. The first is a colorful history of the Beat writers. The second is the interview. The history is okay and the interview is boring. Bukowski doesn't knock you out with his barroom wisdom in this one.

The best thing about the book is the large collection of black-and-white photographs. Seriously. If you are a big Bukowski fan, this book will disappoint you.

3.0 out of 5 stars Bukowski VS. the Beats, January 18, 2012

By 

Robert Zverina "Picture of the Day" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bukowski and the Beats: A Commentary on the Beat Generation (Paperback)

The word "and" can join (stars and stripes) or it can differentiate (apples and oranges). I'm glad that the "and" of this title is used mostly in the second sense--so much so that the book might better be called BUKOWSKI VS. THE BEATS. Which is as it should be, because although Bukowski once read with and showed a grudging respect for Allen Ginsberg (once calling him "the most awakening force in American poetry since Walt W."), he never aligned himself with the Beat school of poetics or politics. For the most part, he mocked and derided them.

But there are connections to be drawn between the outsider Bukowski and the clique-ish Beats. Lawrence Ferlignhetti published Bukowski. Bukowski partied with and respected Neal Cassady (Kerouac's good buddy and inspiration for ON THE ROAD). Burroughs and Bukowski once crossed paths. ...OK, well, that's about it.

Duval does a good job of capturing this ambivalence by synthesizing all the various mentions of the Beats in Bukowski's published work and correspondence, consolidating that scattered material into a tidy chronology which underscores Bukowski's independence from that group.

(On a personal note, I kind of outgrew the Beats and so only skimmed the chapters devoted solely to them. As with many college students, the Beats were a revelation and turned me on to the possibilities of poetry--so much so that I went on to get an MFA in Poetry under the mentorship of Allen Ginsberg--but most of what they wrote now strikes me as too earnest, precious, or self-consciously capital-P Poetic, if not just plain dated.)

The long interview with Bukowski which caps this book tips my review in its favor. The interviewer is fairly inept (he tires easily, runs out of questions (!), can't take a joke and is rude for not bringing a bottle of wine), but Bukowski doesn't need much prompting to deliver lines as cogent as those found in his writing: "The human heart, as of course we all know, is essentially good. But between governments, false gods, striving for survival, the heart gets mixed up with the head and the feet and the elbows and the intestine. And the peace and the madness. And the heart gets strangled out a bit. It's a good organ and there is complete hope for humanity if it ever gets a little bit straight. It's all there, it's totally there, there is total hope of goodness forever. But we got lost somewhere. How we can ever straighten that out, I don't know."

In short, this was worth borrowing from the library but I don't feel the need to own it.