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Charles Bukowski

On Drinking Hardcover – Illustrated, February 12, 2019

by Charles Bukowski (Author)

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The definitive collection of works on a subject that inspired and haunted Charles Bukowski for his entire life: alcohol

Charles Bukowski turns to the bottle in this revelatory collection of poetry and prose that includes some of the writer’s best and most lasting work. A self-proclaimed “dirty old man,” Bukowski used alcohol as muse and as fuel, a conflicted relationship responsible for some of his darkest moments as well as some of his most joyful and inspired.

In On Drinking, Bukowski expert Abel Debritto has collected the writer’s most profound, funny, and memorable work on his ups and downs with the hard stuff—a topic that allowed Bukowski to explore some of life’s most pressing questions. Through drink, Bukowski is able to be alone, to be with people, to be a poet, a lover, and a friend—though often at great cost. As Bukowski writes in a poem simply titled “Drinking,”: “for me/it was or/is/a manner of/dying/with boots on/and gun/smoking and a/symphony music background.”

On Drinking is a powerful testament to the pleasures and miseries of a life in drink, and a window into the soul of one of our most beloved and enduring writers.

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From the Publisher

At HarperCollins, authors and their work are at the center of everything we do. We are proud to provide our authors with unprecedented editorial excellence, marketing reach, long-standing connections with booksellers, and insight into reader and consumer behavior. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement, HarperCollins also uses digital technology to create unique reading experiences and expand the reach of our authors.

HarperCollins was founded by brothers James and John Harper in New York City in 1817 as J. and J. Harper, later Harper & Brothers. In 1987, as Harper & Row, it was acquired by News Corporation. The worldwide book group was formed following News Corporation's 1990 acquisition of the British publisher William Collins & Sons. Founded in 1819, William Collins & Sons published a range of Bibles, atlases, dictionaries, and reissued classics, expanding over the years to include legendary authors such as H. G. Wells, Agatha Christie, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis.

The house of Mark Twain, the Brontë sisters, Thackeray, Dickens, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein, and Margaret Wise Brown, HarperCollins has a long and rich history that reaches back to the early nineteenth century and offers our publishing team a depth of experience.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The definitive collection of works on a subject that inspired and haunted Charles Bukowski for his entire life: alcohol.

In On Drinking, Bukowski expert Abel Debritto has collected the writer’s most profound, funny, and memorable work on his ups and downs with the hard stuff—a topic that allowed Bukowski to explore some of life’s most pressing questions. Through drink, Bukowski is able to be alone, to be with people, to be a poet, a lover, and a friend—though often at great cost. As Bukowski writes in a poem simply titled “drinking”: “for me / it was or / is / a manner of / dying / with boots on / and gun / smoking and a / symphony music background.”

On Drinking is a powerful testament to the pleasures and miseries of a life in drink, and a window into the soul of one of our most beloved and enduring writers.

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 1920 in Andernach, Germany, to an American soldier father and a German mother, and brought to the United States at the age of two. He was raised in Los Angeles and lived there for over fifty years. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp.

Abel Debritto, a former Fulbright scholar and current Marie Curie fellow, works in the digital humanities. He is the author of Charles Bukowski, King of the Underground, and the editor of the Bukowski collections On Writing, On Cats, and On Love.

Product details

Item Weight : 1 pounds
Hardcover : 272 pages
ISBN-10 : 0062857932
ISBN-13 : 978-0062857934
Product Dimensions : 6 x 0.93 x 9 inches
Publisher : Ecco; Illustrated Edition (February 12, 2019)
Language: : English

Best-sellers rank #388,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#330 in Literary Letters
#402 in Literary Diaries & Journals
#738 in Love Poems

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44 ratings

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Dayna A. Safranek

Good collection of writing and interviews.

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019

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A nice collection of other Bukowski works and interviews in his later years looking back and reflecting. I enjoyed this. I own all of Bukowski’s mainstream publications and this was nice to have to add to them.

One person found this helpful

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RyanPainter9

Drinks on me

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2019

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Lots of stories through the years in one place. Lots of fun and memories.

One person found this helpful

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Raj Maharjan

Raw

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019

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Spoken like a true alcoholic! Bukowski is a distiller he distills his past experience into a condensed book full of poems!

2 people found this helpful

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love Bukowski

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020

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whats not to like? very relatable, short, funny, and doesn't have to be read in order.

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healthnut

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020

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Will read anything by Charles. Kudos that he did it even with the life he lived or rather, in spite of it. He doesnt hold back. Excellent!!!!!

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Kenneth Lindahl

Don't know.....

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2020

Are all of these Bukowski "On...." books....On Drinking, On Writing, On Cats, etc......
Are they just collections of stuff that has been published previously? I started buying Bukowski in the early 70's and own everything available, and I do mean EVERYTHING, so I don't want to waste my money on stuff I already have read.

2 people found this helpful

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Brandon

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020

I read this book in one day. The subtle nuisances and the fantastic depth of character was just enthralling. Bukowski can only could have existed in the time period he did, now he might have been a nobody or a blogger.

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Charles O'Neill

I think I love you Charles Bukowski

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2020

I just love Charles Bukowski, such a great writer and probably the greatest degenerate of the last century. Need I say more.
Cris Cristofaro

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