"Hello, it's good to be back!"

by Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowskis legendäre einzige Lesung in Deutschland gibt es jetzt wieder auf CD.

Im Mai 1978 kommt Charles Bukowski für zwei Auftritte nach Europa. Sein Auftritt in einer französischen Literatursendung endet im Eklat. Sein Auftritt in Deutschland endet mit Applaus: In der Hamburger „Markthalle“, wo sonst die heißen Newcomer der Rockszene auftreten, feiern ihn über 1.200 Fans (Bukowski: „Sie standen Schulter an Schulter, Arsch an Arsch.“), Gegner, Neugierige, Rocker, Vertreter der Kultur-Schickeria und Groupies („Die waren einfach nicht wegzukriegen.“). Alles in Reichweite eines Kühlschranks, der Bukowskis Nachschub an deutschem Weißwein sicherte. Die Lesung wurde mitgeschnitten und erschien kurz darauf bei Zweitausendeins als LP. Später kursierte die Aufnahme als rauschender und schwer zu verstehender Bootleg in den USA: zu einem Preis von bis zu 100 Dollar. Jetzt veröffentlichen wir die Lesung noch einmal: von der Begrüßung („Hello, it’s good to be back!“) bis zum allerletzten Zwischenruf. Dazu alle Texte im Booklet, im Original und in der Übersetzung von Carl Weissner sowie Bukowskis und Weissners eigene Beschreibungen der Ereignisse vor, während und nach der Lesung in der Hamburger Markthalle am 18.5.1978. 47 Minuten Spielzeit.

47 Minuten Live-Lesung in der Hamburger Markthalle.

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Henry Charles Bukowski (born as Heinrich Karl Bukowski) was a German-born American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles.It is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over sixty books

Charles Bukowski was the only child of an American soldier and a German mother. At the age of three, he came with his family to the United States and grew up in Los Angeles. He attended Los Angeles City College from 1939 to 1941, then left school and moved to New York City to become a writer. His lack of publishing success at this time caused him to give up writing in 1946 and spurred a ten-year stint of heavy drinking. After he developed a bleeding ulcer, he decided to take up writing again. He worked a wide range of jobs to support his writing, including dishwasher, truck driver and loader, mail carrier, guard, gas station attendant, stock boy, warehouse worker, shipping clerk, post office clerk, parking lot attendant, Red Cross orderly, and elevator operator. He also worked in a dog biscuit factory, a slaughterhouse, a cake and cookie factory, and he hung posters in New York City subways.

Bukowski published his first story when he was twenty-four and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. His first book of poetry was published in 1959; he went on to publish more than forty-five books of poetry and prose, including Pulp (1994), Screams from the Balcony (1993), and The Last Night of the Earth Poems (1992).

He died of leukemia in San Pedro on March 9, 1994.