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Charles Bukowski

The Roominghouse Madrigals: Early Selected Poems 1946-1966 Paperback – May 31, 2002

by Charles Bukowski (Author)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These poems, gathered from the prolific poet's early, out-of-print, and now scarce pamphlets, come on the heels of his screenplay success, Barfly . In the poet's opinion, "The early poems are more lyrical," but readers may find it hard to spot much diversity in Bukowski's 40 years' output; his work, whether poetry, fiction, or drama, has remained thematically stagnant. The language is a bit less ostentatious than in later work, permitting a gentle and often self-mocking humor to emerge: "if I am a fly I'll never know/ what a lion really is." Other poems reveal an innate sensitivity to people, especially women, which Bukowski has apparently attempted to mask in more recent work. Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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

Paperback : 264 pages
ISBN-10 : 0876857322
ISBN-13 : 978-0876857328
Item Weight : 9.8 ounces
Publisher : Ecco (May 31, 2002)
Product Dimensions : 5.88 x 0.66 x 8.94 inches
Language: : English

Best-sellers rank #544,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#3,029 in American Poetry (Books)

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Cuan Glass

Any piece of writing by the Immortal Buk is pure gold.

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020

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As a devoted fan of Mr Bukowski's writing since 1992 when I first read his remarkable and, frankly, life-changing verses, I can confidently recommend this volume of his early poetry to anyone who shares my consuming passion for and love of, his work. "The Roominghouse Madrigals" gives Bukowski fans a rare and unique insight into his harrowing life circumstances as a young man on Skid Row. It also affords the reader with invaluable insights into Buk's literary and musical influences, both of which strongly informed his poetry and prose before any kind of fame or even recognition found him, and before he developed his own striking and unforgettable literary voice.

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Keith Nichols

Good, but doesn't quite match the popular image

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2004

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The author observes that these poems are more "lyrical" than his later ones. Indeed, the language is more abstract and deals more with things in general and less directly with the East Hollywood life with which Bukowski is so firmly identified. I find the work enjoyable but less so than the later work because it reminds me of other, more academic poets and doesn't reinforce my concept of the author's uniqueness as based on the later work, which I read first. Maybe I shouldn't have read the later stuff first, although had I read the first stuff first, I might not have bothered to read the later stuff. On its own merits, this is a good book, and Bukowski fans need to read it if only to round out their view of its author's development.
The book is said to contain poems from 1946 to 1966, yet the end note states that Bukowski started writing poetry at age 35, which would be 1955. Exactly why the time span goes back to 1946 is thus not clear to me.

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Jennifer

Feel bad inside. But in a good way.

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2018

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If you like to cry over dead hookers (which I do), this is the collection for you.

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ReviewerTop Contributor: Boxing

Early, more lyrical Stuff still pretty minimalist

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2019

Charles Bukowski is credited by some as humanizing poetry, not just in terms of language ("the spoken word nailed to paper" as I think one of his early publishers put it), but in terms of his themes. Throughout history a very small coterie of artists has either been fortunate enough to enjoy patronage or noble birth, while the rest didn't enjoy these advantages. Those in the latter group (most of humanity) usually tried to conceal or not mention that fact. Bukowski almost seemed to celebrate it, writing about working as a janitor or working at an auto parts plant the way someone else might write about an ill-fated love.

"The Roominghouse Madrigals" features Herr Bukowski's relatively earlier offerings as a poet. They are more lyrical compared to his later output, but that's not to say they are especially lyrical compared to most poetry in general. There's not much meter, there's not much form, and there's some redundancy in themes (drinking, women, living in furnished rooms, drinking, mortality, drinking), but the best poems do show a kind of miraculous scansion and soar as well as some of the best 20th century poems.

Some of the poems read like little more than what we used to call "sit-reps" (situational reports) back when I was in the Army. It's these sorts of poems (rarer here than in later collections) which made Bukowski so easy to parody (I recall the writer Charles Willeford mocking Bukowski with a pastiche called something like "The Life of Bukowski" which ran something like this: "I woke up/and went to the bathroom/and puked.")

But that Bukowski can be parodied doesn't mean that he wasn't a competent poet. I agree with his biographer (Howard Sounes) that he published too much poetry. And "Roominghouse Madrigals" was barely short enough to not wear out its welcome for me (and I still count myself as a fan of Hank, though not as rabid as I once was). But yeah, there is some beautiful stuff in here, if one reads with a pruning/paring eye. Recommended.

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Dave Matthes

Meh, but not bad

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020

Not bad. The usual well-intentioned, apathetic Buk sprinkled with little dustings of love. Some good one-liners in here, but most of the poems are what you would expect from the guy, which isn't always a bad thing. I love ya Hank, but the more I read of ya, which is substantial at this point, the more I'm starting to feel as though if you've read one Bukowski poem, you've read em all, and that includes all the "poets" who relentlessly try to imitate you every day. Still, a good book "Madrigals"; I enjoyed it with my wine and my whiskey, which is the best way to experience the man's words.

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Nate

Where's the Glue?

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2019

I read Bukowski to stay sane. I've read most of his published works and rue the day I've read them all. After almost two decades of reading Hank, I feel I'm getting somewhat well-versed about the man and his art. This collection of his early poetics, spanning twenty years, lacks cohesion, but perhaps the glue that holds it together is the evidence of Buk experimenting with form, discovering his voice, betting on the muse. It's still an enjoyable read, but perhaps I've grown accustomed to the older, wiser Bukowski - the grizzled sage, the pensive gnarled saint and sinner huddled at the typer with a long-distance view to grace and a settled sense of identity. Or maybe, and most likely, it's just me - my twenty-five year-old self may have had a different opinion.

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Top international reviews

Scott Baker

loved him ever since

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2016

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first Bukowski I ever read, discovered in the poetry library, Royal Festival Hall back in 2003; loved him ever since, so had to get a copy for keeps

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Amazon Customer

Blazing brilliant bonfire of Bukowski poetry

Reviewed in Japan on February 12, 2017

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This is, quite simply and honestly, Bukowski's best book of poetry. Some poems are lyrical and sweet, others are hard and gritty (and more typical of the style he would go on to develop while the rest are either weird or perplexing.

All things considered though, this is an excellent book.

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