2012 · 512 pages
About this book
From Depression-era Los Angeles to skid row rooms and late-won renown: the essential poems and stories of an American outsider. The best of Bukowski's novels, stories, and poems, this collection reads like an autobiography, relating the extraordinary story of his life and offering a sometimes harrowing, invariably exhilarating reading experience. Bukowski charts his youth through a bleak Depression-era Los Angeles, balancing the raw savagery of an abusive household against the stubborn endurance of an outcast. The volume traces his itinerant years through skid row roominghouses and grueling post office shifts. Arranged chronologically from twenty-five years of Black Sparrow Press publications, this anthology brings together celebrated fiction and raw verse. A must for this counterculture idol's legion of fans. Raw Honesty: Chronicles Bukowski’s agonizing adolescence battling severe acne vulgaris, undergoing electric needle treatments and heavy bandaging at the Los Angeles County charity hospital. Against the Odds: Details grueling years spent as a substitute carrier and clerk at Oakford Station, facing down aggressive dogs, impossible sorting schedules, and abusive supervisors. American Literature: Traces the devastating loss of Jane, his first true love, documenting her fatal struggle with alcoholism and the haunting elegies that defined his poetic breakthrough. Classic Literature: Exposes the absurdities of late-career fame in Hollywood, from writing the Barfly screenplay to clashing with eccentric directors and volatile producers. Also by This Author: Essential Bukowski, On Cats and On Writing.
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