Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit (Paperback)

by Charles Bukowski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
12-24-78
2 Flies
2347 Duane
40 Cigarettes
40,000 Flies
5 Dollars
59 Cents A Pound
8 Rooms
Africa, Paris, Greece
Another Argument
The Apple
An Argument Over Marshal Foch
Art
Blue Moon, Oh Bleweeww Mooooon How I Adore You!
Claws Of Paradise
Close Encounters Of Another Kind
Cooperation
Dow Average Down
The Drill
The Drunk Tank Judge
The Egg
Face Of A Political Candidate On A Street Billboard
Fair Stand The Fields Of France
Fire Station
The Happy Life Of The Tired
Horse And Fist
Hot Month
Hug The Dark
I Liked Him
I Love You
I'm In Love
An Ideal
Interviews
Junk
A Killer Gets Ready
The Killer Smiles
The Knifer
The Ladies Of Summer
Leaning On Wood
A Little Atomic Bomb
The Loner
Maybe Tomorrow
Mermaid
Metamorphosis
The Night I Was Going To Die
Nothing Is As Effective As Defeat
The Paper On The Floor
Promenade
The Proud Thin Dying
A Radio With Guts
The Red Porsche
The Sandwich
Solid State Marty
Some Picnic
The Souls Of Dead Animals
The Strangest Thing
Success
Through The Streets Of Anywhere
To Weep
Tough Company
Under
The Violin Player
We'll Take Them
Yankee Doodle
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Description
No description available. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 8th Printing edition (May 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876854374
• ISBN-13: 978-0876854372
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #365,374 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's so easy to be a poet but so hard to be a man., October 21, 2003

By	D. Scharlach "wanderer, barista, musician" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A friend of mine handed me this book and said that when she read them she wanted to throw Bukowski on the table and jump on top of him. Intrigued, perhaps a bit jealous, I plunged into this book.
My only knowledge of Bukowski had been the little biographical notes from Beat literature books or things like that. I was under the impression that I was going to get a beating from some cold unemotional degenerate, or something akin to the dry wit of William S. Burroughs.
Not so.
Bukowski's work is rich with emotion, but not sap. It is not the poetry of little delicate flowers and holding hands in the park; no, with this poetry you have to walk through a drunken hell before you can look at a woman with that special feeling of affection, before you can feel the grace of hearing classical music on the radio. Or maybe you can spend the in between time betting on horses, eating a sandwich, or just trying to understand a little bit about life.
Just dont' ask for any more than what's already here. Because herein lies all the secrets. Snapshots of heaven and hell, and how they are both right in front of us, whichever we see at the time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to Bukowski's poetry, April 2, 2004

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

This book is like a 'greatest hits' from the 1970s for Bukowski. Ranging from 1970 to 1979, these poems show him working on familiar themes, but he's getting better at expressing himself. His chaotic life is drawing to a close as he settles into married life in the 1980s. These poems are more focused than his earlier efforts, but also a little looser --- he's able to sum up a mood, a day, or an old friend in half a page of non-rhyming verse. These poems are full of wry humor and romance, a far cry from his reputation for booze and sullen moods. If you haven't read his poetry, try this book. You'll find out what kind of writer Bukowski was. It's sure to inspire you to read more of his great work.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, booze, and poetry, January 1, 2002

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit" is a collection of poetry by the prolific Charles Bukowski. In a down-to-earth, vernacular free verse, Bukowski poetically explores a number of recurring themes: women and sex, gambling and games of chance, alcohol, cigarettes, his life as a poet, and other writers.

I see Bukowski as a sort of literary philosopher-satyr who often writes about the crude, seedy side of life. Some of my favorite poems from this collection are as follows: "fire station," a bawdy, boozy narrative poem; "a radio with guts," about the narrator's drunken abuse of the title item; and "interviews," an ironic reflection on encounters with "young men from the underground / newspapers and the small circulation / magazines."

In this book the reader will encounter junkies, drunks, and various colorful characters. Bukowski's tone is sometimes melancholy; often the bawdy life of his poems is haunted by the specter of death. And I was intrigued by his occasional literary references: to Dos Passos, Mailer, Rimbaud, Hemingway, and others. Overall, a compelling volume.