Customer Reviews

Poems Written Before Jumping Out of an 8 Story Window.

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It's been several years since I read this early work of Bukowski's--while sitting in a special collections room at the Washington University library (they have an excellent archive of contemporary American writers). From what I recall, this collection typifies Bukowski's poetry of the 50s and 60s. His writing is tentative and uneven, his style is still somewhat uncertain, but the passion and vitality are quite evident. It's a small volume in which Bukowski-- having only recently turned to writing poetry in earnest--is still experimenting with the form. He had not yet found his colloquial, natural voice nor had he developed the "Chinaskian" persona that would dominate his work by the late-1970s. I recommend this volume to any Bukowski enthusiast who wants to explore the emergence and development of his poetic talents. It's a rather uneven and flawed book, but entertaining, evocative and sometimes beautiful.