Charles Bukowski: Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews and Encounters 1963-1993 [Paperback]

David Stephen Calonne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Cultural Writing. Thirty-four interviews and encounters chronicle the riseof Charles Bukowski. He speaks in his own voice about his writing and hislife, dutifully answering question after question.Included is his firstinterview in 1963 with the Literary Times of Chicago from his one-bedroomHollywood apartment, and his last--at poolside in San Pedro answering aGerman journalist in August 1993, seven months before his death at 73.Follow his journey from obscurity to fame in Europe and finally in Americaafter the success of the movie Barfly.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Editor David Stephen Calonne, born in Los Angeles, received his B.A. from UCLA and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of William Saroyan: My Real Work is Being as well as The Colossus of Armenia: G.I. Gurdjieff and Henry Miller.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sun Dog Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941543374
• ISBN-13: 978-0941543378
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for fifty years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was twenty-four, and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp (1994).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to the collection., January 24, 2004

By 

J. Boley "JB" (Lafayette, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charles Bukowski: Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews and Encounters 1963-1993 (Paperback)

I give this book five stars because there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is a nice, tight collections of interviews spanning Bukowski's career and I found it a pleasure to read. That said, a buyer will want to keep in mind that interviewers often ask the same questions, so people might find this book repetetive, but as an avid Buk fan, I did not.

It's hard to tell with Bukowski where the fiction ends and the reality begins sometimes. He flat out says that he often does not tell the truth to interviewers, so it's hard sometimes to ascertain whether or not you are seeing the real Buk in these interviews. Still, they are an essential part to the overall picture of Bukowski.

One will see several themes throughout the book. Almost every interview gives a brief telling of Bukowski's childhood and the ten-year drunk. It's also interesting to see that he mentions in several interviews writing until he's 80, and it's sad in retrospect to realize that this did not come to pass.

Bukowski remained amazingly consistent in his thoughts througout the span of this book. Still, usually something can be gleaned from each interview which is unique, which makes this an entertaining addition to your collection, though it would not be my first choice if I was just beginning to find out about Buk's life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely one for the Bukowski fan..., March 13, 2006

By 

Robert Browning (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charles Bukowski: Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews and Encounters 1963-1993 (Paperback)

I would say this is not for the casual reader of Bukowski's poetry. This is for the deep fan who wants a little more of the man and what he was like. And like his poems, which I am a fan of, expect the vulgar, the gritty, the passion and the truth. I give it only 4 stars just for the repetitiveness at times - since it's mostly a collection of interviews taken from various magazines over the years, a lot of the same questions are asked of Bukowski with a lot of the same answers given. So that makes it a bit tiresome to read at times, but that is a very, very minor detail. There is still plenty of the wit, anger and pomposity and truth here that mark Mr. Bukowski as one of the major writers of the century.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BUK IS BACK!, November 25, 2003

By 

Kirk Alex - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Charles Bukowski: Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews and Encounters 1963-1993 (Paperback)

Nice cover design and terrific photo of Bukowski on the cover. Sun Dog Press did a swell job here. Have read some of these interviews elsewhere and that's why I gave it four stars only--still, worth getting for your Buk collection. This is for the fans here. Almost brings him back from the other side. I have always known (as have so many other Buk readers) there was more to the guy than the beer-guzzling brawler persona he cultivated so well and fooled so many with. Read the interviews and you'll see what I'm getting at here.

The only thing that bugs me is that an acedemic was behind the "edited by" tag--since the Buk hated the type, etc. But what can you do? We'll take the book. Makes one feel good to have something new with Bukowski's name on the cover. Thanks, Sun Dog Press.