blog number two, writing about selected text

Charles Bukowski invites his audience to a world most of us do not want to know exists. He writes about those who have become prey to the harsh world of reality. He chose to live in the dark alleys of society, but wrote about them with such brilliance, that his stories could not be ignored. He writes about the rejects of society, a group which he clearly considers himself a card carrying member of. I think about the importance of overcoming adversity, while reading his works. Anyone can be happy and successful when the going is good, the true determining factor of one`s life comes with how they handle the tough times.


In his poem Farewell, Farewell(pg172) he writes about his upcoming death. He writes about how he has earned his stripes by surviving and living in this unhappy world. He writes "In the face of this unhappy world, who but a fool would want to linger". This line demonstrates his true distain for the world that he shall soon be leaving. He has seen too much pain, and felt too much despair, to want to fight any harder just to survive a few more days, weeks, or months, in this miserable world. The same tone is used in his poem "Put out the light"(pg215) where he states "Most, given a choice between eternal life or death, will always choose the latter". This line demonstrates his belief that enough is enough. That there comes a point in everyone`s life, who has lived long enough, where they are ready to say no mas.

One of his most telling poems about his life is "Proper credentials are needed to join"(pg207) in this poem he demonstrates his dislike for those who he believes have been "Untouched by life". He brings up that he has been arrested 15 to 20 times, and that he has four D.U.I.`S. "Then he states" I have been drinking, with gusto, for 54 years and intend to continue to do so". He believes that the scars that drinking has brought him is his badge of courage. In this poem he complains about "These young,blithe,slender,unscathed,delicate creatures who claim to have vanquished the dreaded evil of drink"(pg208)! John Edwards a former two time presidential candidate often used the term "Two Americas". Bukowski believes in the two World`s theory, the world in which most of us live in and that is often written about, and the dark alley world that he lives in, that is so rarely written about. In this poem he does not tolerate those who live in the first world pretending they know anything about the latter world.

The poem "Notes on some poetry"(PG199) is a poem where Bukowski describes poetry he does not like. He staes"These are poets who write what I call the comfortable clever poem."What I think about when I read that line is the absence of emotion that is in some literature. It makes me think back to a professor of mine who told me that the greatest weakness a writer can have is shame. If one self edits their emotions in order to not embarrass themselves, then they lose their writing voice. Bukowski later refers to this problem as a "Life gone cozy". What I believe he means by that line, is that if life becomes too comfortable for someone, it will become hard for them to create raw emotion in poetry. I think about a writer who once told me that happy people don`t write. I think that is what this poem is about, that it takes pain to create great literature.

The "Buzz" on page 201 is about gamblers at a horse track. This poem talks about the pain that comes from a life of gambling. I think back to my many expierences with gambling, and I am thankful that I am far away from that life now. He writes"They come day after day and lose and lose". What he is talking about here is how harmful an addiction can be. These pour souls care about nothing, but making their next bet. The life of a gambler is wrapped around nothing, but pain. He talks about horse players here who are in many ways the worst of the lot. He talks about how they are dirty and don`t care about what they wear. He writes at the end of the poem that "Its the roar of the impossible". I think about the impossible odds against a gambler, when reading this line. A gambler is trying to create their own reality, which is very similar to a writer. That desire to escape reality, is the reason why so many great writers fall victim to addictions. He writes in the poem"You`ve have got to have it now and then, you `ve got to. A shot of fire, an explosion!" This make me reflect on why people choose to live a certain way. What he does not understand here is that you can get that shot of fire, without burning yourself alive.

In his poem "A simple Kindness"(pg203) he reflects on how hard it is to find immortality.He searches for immortality by creating great art that will last way beyond his heart beat. He writes"Immortality can be a very brief expierence". He is complaining about  when he gets drunk, he thinks he has written a masterpiece. However when he wakes up he realizes that it was just a piece of trash. In the end of the poem he writes"The best thing about self rejection is that it saves that obnoxious duty from being somebody else`s problem." This is his way of talking about all the poems he has thrown away in his search for immortality. I reflect on how tough writing can be. It is not easy to put yourself out there for the world to reject, but that is what great writers do.I can picture Bukowski waking up with a pile of trash beneath him of all his bad poems. I just wonder how many masterpieces have been thrown away.

In his poem "Good try all" he reflects on the ladies of his past. The poem starts with the line"Did I fail those fragile tulips?" This is a line that almost anyone can relate to, when thinking of past lovers. He goes on to complain "Remembering all the ladies I`ve have known who at the beginning of the affair were already discouraged and unhappy because of their miserable previous experience with other men." In this line he answers his first question with a no. He puts the blame for the failed relationships on the women and their previous lovers. This makes me think about how hard realtionships are, because each person brings their past with them into a new beginning. I find myself thinking how lucky I am to have my soon to be wife in my life. In the end of the poem he states " I can`t think of anyone of those ladies, I`d rather not have known no matter what they tell of me now." The last line indicates he messed up as well, otherwise why would they be talking bad of him now. These couple of lines show Bukowski has a soft side to him , because he still reflects about the lovers of his past. He is thankful of them being in his life, no matter how short the time might of been. It makes me think about past frienships or whatever and realize that there is not always someone to blame, it just is what it is.