Bukowski

I'm a fan of Charles Bukowski's poetry. I'm not an expert on it by any means, but I've read maybe three or four of his collections - my favorite being Love is a Dog from Hell (which contains one of my favorite poems of all time called 'Writing 101' if my memory serves correctly.) I also loved the movie Barfly (with Micky Rourke playing Hank - the character modeled after Bukowski.)

I don't think I would've liked Bukowski himself if I would've met him. He seemed like an asshole - a belligerent, drunken lout, quick to anger and get in fights. I saw a YouTube video where he got really abusive with his girlfriend, and it was rather despicable. If I would've hung out with him at a bar, I would've been uncomfortable - worried about saying the wrong thing that might set him off, worried about laughing at the right jokes, nodding at the right points during his pontifications.

But damn, I love his poetry. And I don't really think it could've come from someone who hadn't lived the way Bukowski had. I don't think it could've come from someone who wasn't a belligerent, abusive drunken asshole. His poetry is raw, crude, and brutal and at times sublime - like the man. But the man I could do without. The poetry - not so much.

What's the lesson there? Is there any? Does there need to be one? I don't know. But I do know that his poetry has shown me the beauty that can arise from the most painful and honest of words, sentences, and stories. Maybe that's lesson enough.