Category: Charles Bukowski

Time For More Bukowski

No matter how outrageous his life or his writings, I always feel better after I’ve read a few pages of thispoet, wisdom, Charles Bukowski genius’ poetry.  I came across a couple today that really spoke to me…when does he ever not speak to me?

this       by Charles Bukowski ©

being drunk at the typer beats being with any woman I’ve ever seen or known or heard about
like
Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Garbo, Harlow M.M. or any
of the thousands that come and go on that celluloid screen
or the temporary girls I’ve seen so lovely
on park benches, on buses, at dances and parties, at
beauty contests, cafes, circuses, parades, department
stores, skeet shoots, balloon flys, author races, rodeos,
bull fights, mus wrestling, roller derbies, pie bakes,
churches, volleyball games, boat races, country fairs,
rock concerts, jails, laundromats or wherever

being drunk at this typer beats being with any woman
I’ve ever seen or
known.

this from a woman writer     by Trisha Sugarek ©

being sober at the keyboard beats being with any man
I’ve ever seen or known or heard about
like
Prince Charles, Donald Trump, Alan  Rickman, Liam Neisen, Edward Norton,
Anthony Hopkins, and yes, Hank Bukowski or
any temporary men like the sailor who drugged me with a sensual
world with no rules, the marine who I spent half my life with, the construction
man on the streets of NYC whose eyes
had a minute affaire with mine,
gone in an instant with much regret on
both our parts Continue reading “Time For More Bukowski”

The Dark Days of…Poetry

Time for a bit of Bukowski and yours truly!

how is your heart? Charles Bukowski ©poet, wisdom, Charles Bukowski

during my worst times
on the park benches
in the jails
or living with
whores
I always had this certain
contentment–
I wouldn’t call it
happiness–
it was more of an inner
balance
that settled for
whatever was occurring
and it helped in the
factories
and when relationships
went wrong
with the
girls.

it helped
through the
wars and the
hangovers
the backalley fights
the
hospitals.

to awaken in a cheap room
in a strange city and
pull up the shade–
this was the craziest kind of
contentment
and to walk across the floor Continue reading “The Dark Days of…Poetry”

Time to Take a Breath…Time For a Little Poetry

crazy ladyWhat a week!  Wrangling with a small so-called, publisher and their poorly written contract, (which I turned down). Writers! Beware of scam artists that call themselves publishers!  A week of being in the clutches of an editor (just kidding…it’s a wonderful experience, writers, you should try it) and trying to survive record-breaking summer temps in Savannah.

I said to a friend, just today, (when she said she was taking a few days off but would continue to work from her mobile.)  ‘BALANCE’,  turn your phone off. Continue reading “Time to Take a Breath…Time For a Little Poetry”

Nostalgia…and Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski, drunk, reprobate, genius
‘Hank’ with his beloved Remington typewriter

It’s a well known fact that I have an on-going love affair with Charles Bukowski, poet, drunk, homeless bum, reprobate, genius.  We haven’t been back to visit with him lately and it’s way past time.  If you search my posts you can enjoy my other thoughts about his writings and poetry.  My favorite is an interview I conducted with him…posthumously.  Yes, nineteen years after his death.  If that seems crazy to you…then let me be insane.  But, read it before you judge.

 

magic machine ©  by Charles Bukowski

I liked the old records that
scratched
as the needle slid across
grooves well
worn
you heard the voice
coming through
the speaker Continue reading “Nostalgia…and Charles Bukowski”

There’s a Tinge of Sadness to my Laugh! Charles Bukowski

Bukowski.More from Charles Bukowski……..His insight is pure truth but who among us would think in quite this way?  Never a glass far from his hand, never a woman far from his arm, never a stubby pencil far from his fingers, never a cat not winding its way around his legs, never many days going by without watching the horses race…the genius wrote and wrote and then wrote some more… and very little of it was false.  A lot of his humor was cloaked in irony if you look very closely.

wearing the collar  © Bukowski

I live with a lady and four cats
and some days we all get along.

some days I have trouble with
one of the
cats. Continue reading “There’s a Tinge of Sadness to my Laugh! Charles Bukowski”

Charles Bukowski…Tired and Worn Out

famous authors, Charles Bukowski, interviews, best selling authors
Bukowski’s ‘safe place’ when it just became too much

‘You Get So Alone at Times that it Just Makes Sense’    While I find everything Bukowski writes has something in it for me this collection has a different ‘feel’.   More down, more depressed, more complaining.  Not much fight left.

But since it was published later in his life, just eight short years before he died,  maybe the flavor of this book is just because he’s older, worn out, and sick.  His joints hurt, his liver is shot (probably), Jane is dead, the IRS is sending him letters informing him that interest is compounding DAILY and, worse, the horses are not paying off.

Don’t misunderstand, I love his work (how can there be any doubt if you’ve read my blog for any length of time) and I continue to be inspired by his insights about life, people, politics, writing and his razor sharp truth about HIMSELF. Continue reading “Charles Bukowski…Tired and Worn Out”

Charlie and I are back…with our Poetry (Charles Bukowski)

It’s Charles Bukowski month!!! No secret.  I am in love with the guy’s raw, tell it like it is, writing.  So here’s a work of his and a work of mine.  I’m fully aware that my scribbles should not be on the same page or in the same room as this great writer…….(so please don’t write me) I am just sharing a frame of mind.  I believe that if you lay down with dogs you get fleas.  If you read great writers, just maybe some of their brilliance will rub off or teach you something.

Try your hand;  there are no fast and hard rules to poetry anymore…at least none that I pay attention to.  (and I’m in good company with this sentiment)  It’s far more important that you write your thoughts down.  Bukowski believed that too.  He couldn’t have cared less what his critics thought….no pentameter?  no rhyme?    So What!!??

Mine:

Apocalypse ©Apacolypse

The whale sings
and I weep,

The world groans
and I ache,

The wind gusts
and I bend,

The surf sighs
and I rage,

The babe cries
and I mourn,

The mountains shift
and I flinch,

The ebony sun melts
and I rail,

The earth dies
and I wear black.  T.Sugarek

Continue reading “Charlie and I are back…with our Poetry (Charles Bukowski)”

“I’ll Take It”….Bukowski and Me

From his later life writings and his book, “You Get so Alone at Times that it Just Makes Sense” Bukowski wrote about how he felt bukow.typwriterhe had beaten the odds….poetry gushing faster than he could write it down and grateful that he was still alive after the hard life he had lived.

I can relate….although I had been writing since my eighth grade history class (Thank you, Miss O’Connor) I certainly didn’t consider myself a ‘writer‘.  Then very late in life, (1994) I began in earnest.  Writing my first full length play. The next one came even easier….then the next one…it’s never stopped, the ideas.

Then friends who read my plays insisted that they wanted the ‘rest of the story’.  What happened to a particular character?  Did Bill ever get out of prison?  Did Monty kill Samantha?  Did Charlie make good his escape? Did Violet get her kids back? So…now I’ve written seven novels, stage plays and countless poems. Continue reading ““I’ll Take It”….Bukowski and Me”

Blogger Declares August as Charles Bukowski Month!

It’s unofficially Charles Bukowski month because this blogger has declared it so!   Who the heck is Bukowski you might be asking. In my opinion he is one of the great writers of our time.  Known for his cutting, take no prisoners, urban poetry and musings.
It’s no secret.  I am in love with the man’s poetry.  If you love ‘bad boys’ who are shot with talent, he’s the guy for you.  I read his work every day that I write….whatever his commentary is about I am inspired to be a better writer.

Bukowski’s life was horrific by most people’s standards.  He was a raging alcoholic, womanizer, gambler and bum.  He worked regular poet, wisdom, Charles Bukowskijobs only enough to keep himself in cigarettes, booze, rent (occasionally) stamps, typewriter paper and money for the race track .  My fantasy is;  oh yes I have fantasized about him….to spend a weekend with him at my cabin, deep in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  In the evenings, before a fire, we would drink whiskey neat, talk of people, past and present, swear at each other and tell stories.  We would end the nights Continue reading “Blogger Declares August as Charles Bukowski Month!”

A Word About Censorship and Trust!

I’m a wise, old lady writer.  I’ve been knocked around a little by life, finally learned  from my mistakes, but all in all had a good life.  The biggest blessing in my years here has been my writing.  I read another profound piece by my hero, Charles ‘Hank’ Bukowski and it got me to thinking about who we should trust with our precious scribblings.  More about that later.

censorA tale of Censorship and Trust…..I recently have been trying to find just the right person to help me with my social networking, public relations and marketing my books.  A young woman answered my ad and she seemed like the ideal fit; she knew everything about social media and was working toward a career in public relations.   In the initial interview (via Skype) we were on a roll; she was ready to get to work and I offered her the job.  In the conversation we touched on women’s issues and that led me to telling her a little about one of my novels, Women Outside the Walls.  (She had not researched me or my writing before the interview).  The story is of women going to visit their men in prison…sometimes for years.  It’s a ‘gritty and truthful book’.  This young woman’s face shut down. Her next question was, “is there anything socially redeeming about your books?”  I almost swallowed my tongue to keep from saying a bad word.  Who did she think she was? Continue reading “A Word About Censorship and Trust!”