You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense
by Charles Bukowski
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Read in October, 2003
This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. Charles Bukowski led a pretty rough life (he was an unapologetic, womanizing, violent drunk) which is reflected in his work. Some of his pieces are coarse, lewd, and downright graphic. But amongst all of the chaos and drunkeness he will write something beautiful and poignant, which seems even more so in contrast to then violent and lacivious poems around it. And that's kind of what poetry is, isn't it? Finding something beautiful in the everyda...more
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Read in August, 2007
I think the title alone says it all...
and maybe he is a bastard, alcoholic son-of-a-bitch, but then so is everyone else. There hasn't been one collection of his work where I have laughed and loved almost every fucking poem in the book before. There are other good titles:
"Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit"
"The Days Run Over the Hills Like Wild Horses"
"Hot Water Music"
"Burning in Water, Drowning ...more
and maybe he is a bastard, alcoholic son-of-a-bitch, but then so is everyone else. There hasn't been one collection of his work where I have laughed and loved almost every fucking poem in the book before. There are other good titles:
"Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit"
"The Days Run Over the Hills Like Wild Horses"
"Hot Water Music"
"Burning in Water, Drowning ...more
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recommends it for:
lovers of mediocre poetry.
I had never read anything by Bukowski before, so when my best friend's brother likened my poetry to his a few years ago, I took it as a compliment, thinking Bukowski must be something special since I'd heard his name before. But now that I've actually read him, I am DEEPLY offended that someone saw something similar in our writing!
Why didn't he just write flash fiction instead of wasting all that space with unnecessary line breaks?
Why didn't he just write flash fiction instead of wasting all that space with unnecessary line breaks?
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Read in February, 2008
I've become a huge fan of Bukowski, especially the more I read. This is the first book of his poetry that I've picked up. The only poetry I've ever dug on would be the old school stuff, Milton, Shakespeare, shit like that. But Bukowski hits the blue collar man's soul in a way that Faulkner caught the Southern soul. Highly recommend it.
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Probably my favorite Bukowski poetry collection...this is where he earns his money, as far as I'm concerned. You have to look past the "he makes it look so easy" nature of his poetry into the substance of his work in order to get a feel of why Bukowski's so good. Sit with it a while, skip around, and you'll see what I mean.
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All I want to do whenever I read Bukowski's poems is drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes. I think he has a knack for getting to the exact center of things in as few words as possible - and for the rest of us, i think that's what whiskey and cigarettes are good for sometimes. Maybe that's the connection.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Amy by:
Kayla Carter
This was my first Bukowski book, but it definitely will not be my last. In this collection of poetry, I was introduced to a lonely, barely-more-than-homeless man with a weakness for horse races, alcohol, women, and cats. I like his straightforward style.
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Bukowski's poetry is better than his prose. It is accessible, clever, funny and at times moving. This is his best collection, alternating between more lyrical fare like the first poem (a favorite of mine) and more narrative, amusing fare.
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i love this ripe bastards books
his poetry is offesive to all who have two legs and tits (though he'd love ya even if you only had one of each or none truely)
esp. a cat is a cat is a cat
huzzah
his poetry is offesive to all who have two legs and tits (though he'd love ya even if you only had one of each or none truely)
esp. a cat is a cat is a cat
huzzah
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nothing short of brilliant, you really have to sift through the poems to find the gems. but so good. the ones that are worth the find will really *rock your world*.
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Sometimes, this codger really hit the nail on the head. The raw, unfiltered verse he writes gets under my skin sometimes, even though he was kind of a jackass.
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As I tend to find Bukowski a rather lackluster writer, I should point out that I did enjoy this collection of poems. Definitely my favorite Bukowski text.
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I have never been able to read poetry for long consecutive spells at a time. Bukowski is the only exception. I can't even do this with Stevens.
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Read in January, 1979
I foolishly thought Hank was writing this book for me. Later I learned that there were more who felt this way.
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I can't decide if I really LOVE or really HATE Charles Bukowski, but he intrigues me and I like that...
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recommended to Mark by:
Will Hudson
If you like Bukowski, you know what your getting. The first poetry book I read cover to cover.
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It is fun to find the hidden gems amongst all the throw away poems in this collection.
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Read in March, 2003
I find Chuck to be pretty cheap sometimes, but he has his moments.
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This is my favorite collection of poetry by Bukowski.
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Read in January, 1990
for me, this solidified Bukowski as a poetry great.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.13 (581 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.13 (580 ratings) number of reviews: 24popular shelves
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quote
"I was their bar freak, they needed me
to make themselves feel
better.
just like, at times, I needed that
graveyard."
more quotes »