Drinking with Bukowski: Recollections of the Poet Laureate of Skid Row [Paperback]

Danny Weitzman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2001

The 20th century's greatest poet was a guy from L.A. called Hank, who talked straight, drank hard, faced truth, and exposed beauty and vulnerability like no other in his place and time. Drinking with Bukowski is a celebration of that utterly original voice featuring contributions from everyone from the women who loved him to the Hollywood cognoscenti who courted him, from writers who admired him and actors who tried to emulate him to the barflies, strippers, gangsters, poets, crazies, and dreamers who knew him: Raymond Carver, Wanda Coleman, Harold Norse, Michael C. Ford, and Paul Vangelisti pay homage and recount the Dionysian days of L.A. poetry; record producer Harvey Robert Kubernik and journalist Barry Miles remember capturing Buk on vinyl for the first time; novelist Steve Abee remembers the early days of L.A.'s underground newspapers - Open City and the L.A. Free Press - Bukowski's early stomping grounds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Alcohol is probably one of the greatest things to arrive upon the earth alongside of me," Bukowski (1920-1994) once said in an interview. While not everyone would agree, few deny that Bukowski casts a long shadow, and the literary community is still processing the fact of his death. L.A. poet and journalist Weizmann has assembled a collection of reprints and never-before-published pieces in honor of "Buk," the postal worker-turned-"cult celeb" whose writing and personage hold unique appeal for artists and non-literati alike. The 35 different voices including famous folks such as Sean Penn, Karen Finley and Raymond Carver give a remarkably coherent, even, at times, redundant portrait of this abusive, alcoholic, egocentric, gifted and sometimes misunderstood literary bad boy. By turns amusing, tiresome, charming, repellant and moving, the collection seems an appropriate tribute to a writer who provokes similarly equivocal feelings. Bukowski might have appreciated, or at least respected, the frankness of many of the contributors. Included are poems by Bukowski's love interest (and mother of his only daughter) FrancEyE, Todd Moore and Raindog; Gerald Locklin's "How to Get Along with Charles Bukowski"; prose by drinking buddy Neeli Cherkovski and onetime girlfriend Linda King; and interviews by Penn and Jean-Fran?ois Duval. Most contributions are thankfully brief and, like their subject, direct. And yet, one can't help wondering if the consistently sympathetic evocations of Bukowski as a thorny individual who suffered deeply from childhood rejection by classmates because of his bad skin, while perhaps providing closure for fans and intimates, might clash with his proclivity for vulgarity and disrespect. (Mar. 1)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A mixed bag in every way, these recollections of Charles Bukowski ranging from the silly to the sublime include interviews, poems, and reminiscences by a variety of friends and acquaintances. Some pieces, like Gerald Locklin's description of Bukowski's funeral and Raymond Carver's well-known poem on Bukowski, "You Don't Know What Love Is," are reprinted from published collections; others, including A.D. Winan's excerpted memoir, appear here for the first time. While most of the contributors praise Bukowski, a couple are openly hostile. Old girlfriends and ex-wives are represented, but Bukowski's widow and his long-time publisher John Martin are conspicuously absent. This collection paints a fair and accurate portrait of Bukowski, but readers who really want to know the old barfly would do better to pour themselves a glass of wine and open one of his books. Recommended for literature collections with strong holdings on Bukowski. William Gargan, CUNY Brooklyn Coll. Lib.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press (January 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560252626
• ISBN-13: 978-1560252627
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,565,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pretty damn decent tribute, November 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Drinking with Bukowski: Recollections of the Poet Laureate of Skid Row (Paperback)

Like the other guy said: If you like Buk you'll enjoy this book. Gives you more insight/perspective.
Also, be warned, a small portion contains some awful poetry written by some of these same folks who knew the man. Definitely worth having for your collection, though. Good deal. Read it twice already. The book almost brings Buk back to us.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bottomfeeders, etc, May 31, 2004

By 

Arch Stanton (Bondurant, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drinking with Bukowski: Recollections of the Poet Laureate of Skid Row (Paperback)

This collection doesn't particularly slice the melon for me. Some decent recollections, a few self-important remembrances, a blast of bad tribute poetry here and there. Go read Factotum, instead

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice collection, October 12, 2001

By 

jot - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drinking with Bukowski: Recollections of the Poet Laureate of Skid Row (Paperback)

Some nice essays in here some really bad poetry (not Buk's, of course) and some good little interviews. Sheds a little more light on the The Man. Definetly worth a read, go for it.