Charles Bukowski on dying and how to write

[@ivanbrave_]

"If you write dull shit, it doesn't matter what you die of." What a king.

[@flammabel]

That killed me honestly🤣

[@JeffSans]

im dead already

[@Beelzebub-x9f]

Especially when you stay drunk all the time

[@_munkykok_]

*kink

[@robertrozier2940]

1000%

[@niriop]

He's kind of cheerful and miserable at the same time.

[@sonicfoxxmusic4281]

Cheerful because he's drunk..miserable because he's...miserable.

[@kylewhitehead1684]

By all accounts he died a pretty happy guy o I guess if you put in the word you can get what you earn. He was probably pretty blissed out near the end after all those years of hard drinking and whatnot.

[@Henchman.24]

Cheerfully miserable, like when you understand how broken the world is but maintain a positive attitude anyway

[@coreycox2345]

Alcohol?

[@Huxtee7]

ALL OF US

[@maxjrboii]

I'd be so honoured to be told from Bukowski, "I like you as a person." damn must be nice.

[@denobai3413]

I would cream myself

[@gypsyfolkart]

+denobai Me too! What an honor it would be.

[@NeroVuk]

+M. Nero your name, though

[@sukhuk1486]

Is that Kurt Cobain in your dp? If it is, why the Fuck do all the ppl who listen to his music read Bukowski? (I'm one of those ppl) I guess it just comes to show that one has to be really broken to love these guys.

[@gypsyfolkart]

Yes indeed M. Nero, it does.

[@colingallagher1711]

It's a misconception that Bukowski is miserable or pessimistic or cranky. He's not. He's neutral. He understands the manure pile and the misery as well as the beauty of life. In fact, he sees both things as the same. It's all neutral.

[@breeeegs]

Read "Dinosauria, We" and tell me that's not pessimistic. But I'll take pessimism and raw honesty over phony platitudes any day.

[@Pavlovlovlov]

nah mate you need to read more

[@nadominhoca]

Despite other posts contradicting you, I totally agree with your comment. Its a fact that Bukowski carried this existence burden on his back during his whole life, but we was able to identify the little details, the nuances, the beauty of simple things.

[@davuswentzel8847]

I don’t think Bukowski likes his own stance. No pessimist enjoys their pessimism

[@ferise1]

Colin Gallagher he seems way kinder and positive than everybody.

[@johndoe-ox7ns]

“The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.” -Bukowski

[@moatasemkassab4517]

Fucking hell, what a line, that line was full of juice flavor and power, and I quickly related to it closely and personally, I'm serious, Bukowski is an extraordinary writer judging by this quote.

[@wordimobi5765]

This is so true to those of us who've been around these extraordinary individuals.

[@NovChivon]

the truly free person has no soul...no mind...he exists in everything everywhere..all his karma has been wiped out and rather than being a manifestation of limited mind he is a manifestation of infinite essence

[@NovChivon]

I was just thinking of this for some reason at the end of my meditation & see someone gave comment a like...bukowski probably met a few enlightened or saintly people in his time...from my experience everybody near the arahant monk feels peaceful & blissful & it's like everyone is bathing in his radiance but it ain't a religious thing...could be a christian or hindu or seikh...the very good person will have dropped all desires...living celibate ..probably a quiet person...anyone coming close to them will feel good because their energy field is large...it was said of the buddha that his aura covered an entire town so everybody in that space would feel uplifted...really as stated the holy person has no soul (spirit body) because he has no karma and a spirit or soul is made up of karma...he has let go and let go and.let go until his energy is that of the akasha ..the ether in which all things seem to exist...the highest understanding is nothing is happening and nothing exists

[@brianbarrett192]

@@NovChivon Buddha

[@alonespirit_1Q84]

"Drink some more scotch, Forget this an interview, I like you as a person by the way, we are tough men through the horrors of life, Cheers." Yep

[@punkseth1]

So freaking wholesome right

[@ciupenhauer]

Yep

[@free2playpcgames523]

he talks about in other interviews how much he hates people. must be nice to hear that from him. or he was just drunk as shit.

[@italianoDOCG]

@@free2playpcgames523 was he ever sober?

[@free2playpcgames523]

@@italianoDOCG Good point. But I'm sure there were still different levels of drunkenness.

[@jackbotkins3587]

I love how the great artists can never describe what they do... they just do it

[@TheLisergicQueen]

True! The real Art require no explanation :)

[@i_t_f_e___proems]

poets can so... artaud and most poets bio have elevated phrases about there burn

[@ianmccormick7051]

Jack Botkins He just did describe it. Bim Bim Bim. Didn't you listen?

[@jackbotkins3587]

***** Brilliant article. Thanks for sharing.

[@Westermann15]

+Dan Donneley Your thinking is very similar to Schopenhauer's. Distinguishing genius from talent: ''Talent works for money and fame; the motive which moves genius to productivity is, on the other hand, less easy to determine. It isn’t money, for genius seldom gets any. It isn’t fame: fame is too uncertain and, more closely considered, of too little worth. Nor is it strictly for its own pleasure, for the great exertion involved almost outweighs the pleasure. It is rather an instinct of a unique sort by virtue of which the individual possessed of genius is impelled to express what he has seen and felt in enduring works without being conscious of any further motivation. It takes place, by and large, with the same sort of necessity as a tree brings forth fruit, and demands of the world no more than a soil on which the individual can flourish.''(Arthur Schopenhauer)

[@Furcatt]

He makes more sense as a rambling drunk than half of the people in American society.

[@JeffryFeffry]

+Will K Definitely one of the best things I've ever read. That could be a quote on the back of his books, honestly.

[@DAREDEVILBKLYN]

True, a real out of the matrix philosopher and artist.

[@lisalovelylpa]

Will K LOL he does make sense. Winks Lisa

[@katemccrew]

laughed out loud

[@thespacefrogdigbaby2508]

The Rock .....Who are they??

[@EmanueL-f2t]

Everyone: "Bukowski's words are so profound". His words: "BIM BIM BIM BIM - BIM BIM BIM - BIM BIM BIM

[@monharris28]

lol bim bim

[@martinkremen6387]

Great coment :DD

[@SundayCookingRemix]

Timing

[@YasirKhan-oo3oo]

I was so attentively listening to him and when I saw your comment it made me laugh out loud 😂

[@Khamomil]

I try to achieve BIM BIM BIM by rewriting sentences as I go, eliminating all the unnecessary words so it sometimes entails changing the order of propositions. If the sentence is shortened by 15% and still has the same meaning, then there's more BIM for the buck. I also chose carefully what words I emphasize by placing them at the end of the sentence, because that's where they'll be remembered in the following sentence, whereas if I start the sentence with the most important words, the sentence ending will be weak and the reader will be bored.

[@maticbauman5957]

And when nobody wakes you in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, freedom or loneliness? -Charles Bukowski

[@Jason-ww3xi]

Does anyone know what book of his this quote is from?

[@RealJap]

He is so right about how writers setup their story with a lot of boredom and trivial things. When I start a new book I always dread the first couple of pages; here we go again with the weather/time/place settings.

[@FuckyWucky]

Every single interview piece a journalist writes starts with them describing whatever restaurant or office space they chose to interview in, I HATE IT. It just reeks of "we all had the same high school english teacher"

[@oharryc]

its to set up the mood a little. @@FuckyWucky

[@TigerPrawn_]

@@FuckyWuckyOh fuck my life. Yes. I have to skim past what the interviewee is wearing, what they ordered, if they just came in from the rain, to the first question they ask them about their life.

[@jrgenm.dsollie4849]

Bukowski made one really great advice: "Don't be boring. The libraries of the world has jawned them self to sleep over your kind."

[@brianbarrett192]

Yet this is the standard model for writing today, taught in most schools. Also, MUST there be an obvious conflict for the story to be interesting or enlightening? I say no.

[@wachiraphongruengnithikong8385]

"It was not dying that mattered, it was the sadness, the wonder. The few good people crying in the night. The few good people." - Charles Bukowski I love this man dearly.

[@goghman]

me as well

[@quittersremedy]

"Yeah I did, and I yawned myself to shit."

[@johnnypastrana6727]

Yeah, and the interviewer grew quiet and resentful after that and B picked up on it, hence the compliment.

[@GloopSerious-nt9dv]

He was so right. Every line he wrote, was short, concise, right where it should be. He describes you a room in 12 words and 3 sentences and you have the whole picture! That is where his power was, and it will be really hard to beat that.

[@ИгорьИжщенков]

Ernest Hemingway was like that too and Hemingway, like Bukowski, emphasized making descriptions using less but very effective words in order to avoid boring the reader with superfluous nonsense.

[@deathchips926]

I wonder what he would say about Cormac McCarthy's writing. He can be concise at certain points and at others he penned propulsive, long-winded, achingly gorgeous passages that exploded into the next page.

[@brianbarrett192]

Yes!!!

[@bonginkosinkosi8546]

"This man isn't even a professional drunk" - 😭

[@AnnaLVajda]

Bukowski was a professional he died of bone cancer not choking on vomit or liver failure or anything.

[@pateris]

@@AnnaLVajda Actually his French publisher who launched him said it was mostly an act. He knew he was selling a character (not throwing the first stone, considering he's been dirt poor for a long time) and stated so in "Blue Bird" : "are you thinking about my sales in Europe ?"

[@sowhat...]

​@@AnnaLVajda wym he was a professional?

[@JOHNNYCORREIA]

BIM BIM BIM...BIM BIM BIM!

[@LeeWanner]

+Johnny Correia BIM BIM BIM!

[@najeebmmarker2013]

bim bim bim, bim!

[@LeeWanner]

+Najeeb Mahmood BIM BIM BIM!

[@kayu_music]

+Johnny Correia Bluh bluh bluh . . . dah dah dah . . . the flies were walking around . . .

[@LeeWanner]

Haha, yeah :-D

[@Stunatra]

This cracks me up every time I watch it. I love this old fuck.

[@drah9955]

Stunatra..I know, like wt he says

[@jerrybaldwin3361]

That's what she said....

[@jeffreykazanjian2399]

Was thinking the same thing.

[@sandpaper631]

Fuck you

[@mobbinhard42]

"we're tough men together! through the horrors of life!" gotta love it

[@jordanpate7167]

Probably my favorite part

[@MillennialMonk]

mobbinhard42 BIM BIM BIM

[@mclovin2023]

Yes !

[@dmac5935]

🍺🍺🍻🍻😁 Ill drink to that

[@leedennehy5077]

Amazing

[@IMNfilms]

This is not an interview. It's a short film, and a great one. With a twist ending. Thanks, Buk.

[@trollfinger]

"It's nice to die of alcoholism. It's very glorious, but if you write dull shit it doesn't do any good what you died from." Great line.

[@CookedOnions]

Alcoholism is the best disease when you think about it. It's the only disease were the cure is DRINKING ALCOHOL - Norm Macdonald RIP

[@RossIvanov]

he's absolutely right about 99% of all writers.

[@zaidshah4535]

Debatable, everybody in this comment section is treating him like a god.

[@jodawgsup]

@@zaidshah4535 Imagine treating the mediocre writer that is Bukowski as a god, which he clearly was not, in writing or elsewhere. He merely parrots what Orwell said about writing.

[@andyayala9119]

@@zaidshah4535 a lot of people are stupid

[@erikleith4670]

opiumpoetry naw

[@RossVassilev]

@@jodawgsup genius poet but lousy prose writer.

[@emily-qe3yu]

Holy shit that interviewer's life must have been made when Bukowski said "I like you as a person, by the way".

[@33hegemon]

The interview sounds like Borat: "You have a nice wife!" Hahah.

[@LeeWanner]

Haha :-)

[@TheJavaMonkey]

"In my country, they would go crazy. "For her... Not so much."

[@jdessell]

I thought he said "You have a nice life."

[@TheJavaMonkey]

@jdessell I think he did, in fact, say "You have a nice life." At the very least, it would make more sense in the context of the fear/lack of fear in the face of death. Still, if you listen really closely, it sounds much more like "wife" than "life," though that's probably due to his accent.

[@DJchrismiller1]

jdessell he's a troll... he has no idea what Bukowski said, he doesnt even know who bukowski is... TROLLL TROLLL TROLLL..... look it up for Christmas sakes... Urban dictionary

[@ricoco7891]

"We're tough men together, through the horrors of life." Sounds like something a character would say. What a great man.

[@tonytee5121]

Charles Bukowski allowed me to see the world in a totally different light. He provided a lens for me that other writers hadn't. Gritty realism, that's his game and I bloody love it!

[@musicisbrilliant]

"I yawned myself to shit..." Really think about that. Really picture it. Such funny poetry, but at least its honest!

[@martijnbodde2481]

This is when you yawn hard. The top part of your head tilts too far to the back. The neck snaps and the body collapses. And as you lay dying on the floor and the room grows dimmer, you think to yourself: 'This is a good time to die. I was bored anyway.'

[@AlexanderNefodov]

Thats the word, honesty. When you´re honest with yourself, this can resonate with other people´s strings of the soul.

[@musicisbrilliant]

@Ghost Heart Haha, good point. :D I imagined him yawing until he turned into a pile of sh*t. That was how I envisioned it.

[@cameronroyce1761]

People always focused on Bukowski's cynicism of others but this right here shows his true compassion for others, he just shows tough love. He knew that there is a little beauty in this fucked up mess

[@brianbarrett192]

Yes! He observed that the interviewer was offended and hurt as he critiqued the other author. And then he tried to reassure the interviewer at the very end. It was touching. Bukowski was a perceptive and compassionate human being.

[@shriharihudli]

@@brianbarrett192He was never a pessimist, only a realist. Calling out the bullshit that others were too delusional to see.

[@squidgyquijabo2422]

He was a miserable bastard but his words were so damn profound.

[@Gibby8100]

And his words would never had been if he wasn´t.

[@k4ir0s]

"don't feel sorry for me. I am a competent, satisfied human being."

[@johnnypastrana6727]

How many truly happy people have you known in your life? I am still looking for my first...

[@isaiahmartinez3350]

he wasnt miserable, that makes him sound like a spoiled person who weakly complained about small things, he was one of the strongest people ive studied

[@elchunkacabra1450]

he was intelligent and enlightened. the only way to true happiness is to be oblivious. this man was a realist. he saw life for what it is.

[@eazymethod01]

"If you write dull shit it doesn't do any good what you die from." I fucking love this so much lol.

[@annishilcock4587]

Not just writing advice but excellent advice for alcoholics too. This man is a fountain of wisdom.

[@whitneyangelie3682]

Bukowski changed my life when I was an adolescent and found his writings and I understand exactly what he's talking about here. Sometimes when I'm writing in a funk I'll find myself hiding my true voice, almost like I'm trying to sound like an "important writer" like someone who's trying too hard. When I read it back I notice that the voice that's coming out isn't my own and it's not what I really want to say (or how I want to say it). Then once I find my groove it's like I just vomit out everything I want to say and it cuts right to the white meat. That's when it's interesting, that's when it stops being staid and boring.

[@EinarKuusk]

Precisely.

[@ivywoods13woods31]

Goddamn right

[@robertz1962]

YES

[@theliquidskyyyoo7583]

Hemingway put this also in a good quote: "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." So damn precise. You and him :)

[@timbrady6473]

Whitney Angelie Dark meat has way more juice , fat , depth of flavor....it’s closer to the bone.

[@thescoobymike]

"Bim bim bim bim bim bim" - Charles Bukowski

[@KLGroupUK]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@robbiepeterh]

His best line 😂

[@vevvenennevvev5945]

In all seriousness, this is his quote I think about most frequently

[@tonydon7441]

Bim bim bim Bim bim bim Lmfaooo

[@Illnessss]

Bim.. Bim.. Bim.. Id you all know what he really wanna say.. But alcohool f*** his tongue.. As a Muslim I know what does it mean bim bim bim..

[@frenzy1225]

I've never seen him speak so passionately. remarkable

[@jimw.4161]

The greatest explanation of writing I have ever heard. Writing MUST never be boring. What else do you need to know?

[@shaneludwick2139]

"He died swallowing his own vomit. Great." -Charles Bukowski

[@erniebuchinski3614]

If it's good enough for Jimi Hendrix, Bon Scott and John Bonham, it's good enough for me. 😂

[@JohnSmith-dq4dx]

@@erniebuchinski3614 Jimi is the best, he gets a pass. Otherwise, NO. Fucking AMATEUR ALCOHOLIC shit to die from that, THAT'S WHAT BUKOWSKI WAS SAYING! Bukowski wasn't saying that it's glorious to die like that, he said what a fucking CHUMP you are for dying like that. "He wasn't even a fuckin' professional drunk!" ~ Bukowski.

[@CornbreadXVX]

@@JohnSmith-dq4dx i banked a secondary needle bath!

[@MatthewC137]

beats the hell out of dying from swallowing someone else's vomit 🤨🍻

[@rylanhudson9319]

‘BIM BIM BIM’ By Charles Bukowski “BIM BIM BIM” “BIM BIM BIM” “BIM BIM BIM”

[@crizish]

"If you write dull shit, it doesn't matter what you die from" A fucking MEN.

[@johnnypastrana6727]

Sure, a good line there...

[@keepingupwiththecichlids]

I think adding, "If you die from alcohol, it's a glorious thing" beforehand, is important for this statement.; Nonetheless, a great line of wisdom.

[@sparx550]

Life is wonderful when people like this exist and leave us with so much delight.

[@stayhydrated4339]

Bukowski even said that life needs less bukowski's. I hope u understand that line

[@bukowski1183]

@@stayhydrated4339 fammmm i saw what you did there and understood what u meant by that Im in shock like raaah that makes bare sense. Thank you for your comment mann

[@MedranoHijo]

Because they tell us the total truth.

[@retrorenaissance9497]

3:30 PM on a southern morning... but honestly, Bukowski is so easy to read and this philosophy is exactly why. He wastes no time, he lets your brain imagine all the details he intentionally leaves out because he knows you will

[@benjones4389]

This is a different age, it's the atomic age - this man was brilliant, one of the best of his time, one of the few writers, like kafka and Dostoevsky before him, who had a profound ability to write with genius

[@4968ace]

dostoyevskys lines are electric. a small child can read his works but only an adult can know what he's talking about

[@truthgiant6487]

I love this man. Everything he said is 100% correct. "Writing must not be boring"

[@DonaldFranciszekTusk]

Why? Boredom is a part of life.

[@martindang7333]

@@DonaldFranciszekTusk isn't life boring enough without books?

[@gorkaaustin5306]

@@DonaldFranciszekTusk yes but there is virtually no artist that WANTS to bore you with their work

[@DonaldFranciszekTusk]

@@gorkaaustin5306 And it's sad! They want to be popular, not great :D

[@normang3668]

It's the most important thing: Don't be boring... It can also be the hardest thing to achieve, because too many people don't know how to not be boring.

[@scaredypicker]

Life is only beautiful because it's finite. Happiness is only great as a break from unhappiness. Who wants to live forever? Who wants to be happy their whole lives?

[@chickenfinger7829]

scaredypicker I mean, I'd be fine with both haha

[@bob733333]

Who wants to be sad and dead?

[@chickenfinger7829]

bob733333 That's what I'm saying, haha. Death is an inevitability, so we're forced to either get comfortable with the thought of it or go crazy. Almost all human action is a result of our mortality, and insecurities with it. In the process of coming to terms with our individual transitions so many people convince themselves that death is good, it gives life meaning. No, we give life meaning. Individually while navigating these experiences we construe our own purposes and reasons for life. Losing things isn't what makes things valuable, it just makes the memories more valuable. In fact, you lose enough things while alive you might even wind up wishing for death. So much of that comes from the loss of loved ones or our health; Which assuming we couldn't die means we wouldn't have poor health either; Meaning that longing to pass on, that growing feeling they we belong less and less on this world as the years go on and on, would be gone. Sure, MAYBE an eternity could get boring but it's a big world that is constantly changing, so I doubt it would get too bad. I'd pick life for sure, but I know that's just the mass of molecules cobbled together talking right now. That these same molecules were apart of countless other things since the dawn of time, that we are the primordial force of the universe, experiences itself, subjectively. That we never end, only change. I like what I am now, what I have. I'll enjoy it while it's here, not because one day it will be gone, but because today I'm here too.

[@GrassTalk4202]

chickenfinger7829 Honestly the thought of never dying would be much more daunting I'd be scared to think what life would be like living forever rather then just living long

[@alxl.929]

@@bob733333 He's talking about being happy all the time or living forever. Happines exists because unhappiness exists, life exists because death exists, light exists because darkness exists, I know it sounds kinda cringe but it's true.

[@silversnail1413]

The man who taught me to walk through the fire.

[@yusufbayraktaroglu9450]

niceeee! because how well you do it matters most!

[@cinama]

How come? Any book of his that you recommend?

[@MikhailBarachashvili]

just don't write poetry

[@Mr-ep2qi]

What do u mean?

[@rootslearning2239]

wow

[@hollandoates961]

great interview. bukowski describes why i love him. He makes you crave the next line, the next page. those who get tired of him are really tired of accepting life as it is.

[@ousooners5193]

+tony stanza he was a stammering drunk spouting off platitudes and edgy "I want to die" stuff. There are a lot of great writers in history that have captured life and struggle and beauty far better than he did.

[@hollandoates961]

great to know. yaaaaaaaaaawn

[@cjizzle2561]

the Whaler you can't top somebody's OPINION. or there wouldnt be as many writers as there is. its all already been said. its how you say it. and if people like the way he says it. then let them

[@abetterhandle]

@@ousooners5193 just finished factotum, and its without a doubt the most boring, unimportant book I have ever read.

[@islaadele1212]

Spoken like a poet. Prose is leisurely, poetry is an intense distillation of emotion. Not everyone can do it.

[@rickydiggler7950]

Charles Is one of a kind. You'll never see another beautiful soul like this ever again.

[@BushyHairedStranger]

“We’re tough men together through the horrors of life!!”-Charles Bukowski What a beautiful thing to have said about you and from such a beautiful man!!

[@brianbarrett192]

I think he was motivated by kindness; he recognized he's hurt the interviewer's feelings with his harsh critique of his favorite writer.

[@TristanDesnos]

I have just discovered this guy. I need to learn more juice

[@LeeWanner]

Congratulations! I recommend his poetry - check out his book of poems titled "Last Night of the Earth Poems". I also encourage feeling the draw to the more heroic elements in his writing... check out the poems, "Roll the Dice", "Too Late", "Bluebird".

[@painiscupcake5433]

A trip to Israel might help

[@AkiraFollower]

I just discovered him 3 hours ago. I can’t believe what I’ve missed.

[@Lytewerkproductions]

the juice is what you get from a brush stroke the juice comes from a pen the juice is when they sign something on a contract the juice man that's the juice the juice comes from an executive order the juice comes from a the strike of a pen the juice comes from a little child scribbling away on a piece of paper and making a picture that's the juice the juice comes in many forms the juice will never run out out of colours the juice juice comes in many pens their are crayons if you like and some charcoal or some chalk if you like the dust if you like the dust

[@Lytewerkproductions]

drawing a picture in the sand with a finger that's the juice graffiti on the wall that's the juice ink is juice acrylic paint is juice also known as rocket fuel but it's still the juice

[@leejardine_]

"If you write dull shit it doesn't matter what you die from" lol

[@arthurd6495]

"we're tough men together through the horrors of life" :)

[@poem]

❤️‍🔥 “Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think I'm not going to make it but you laugh inside remembering all the times you've felt that way” ❤️‍🔥 ~ Charles Bukowski 😎

[@davidlinehat4657]

I needed that this morning! Thanks

[@alexjamesjoaquin3406]

One of my favourite high functioning alcoholic. He generated questions yet he partly lacked answers and I don't blame him. Nonetheless, thank you Charles. A modern poet I embraced dearly.

[@yingyang1008]

"every line has to have juice" - so true Every so often I feel like I've lost some of my higher faculties and can't get into books like I used to, but then a book (with juice) will come along and I'll read it in two days When you're in the zone and feel inspired and write a good letter or whatever, that's the juice coming out That's why so many writers and musicians are tormented and alcoholics, they've known life in that zone and want it all the time If a book isn't captivating you then just put it down, either it's no good or isn't good for you - either way, there's no point struggling through

[@505johnny]

Man I crave for the feeling of flow state it’s so raw yet so genuine

[@Belleeex27]

I feel so guilty when not able to finish a book so this was nice to hear

[@youarelife3437]

It's easier to get in this 'zone' as a kid/teenager. But once you get success, it becomes difficult by putting effort in, by knowing that people are watching you and expecting something great..so many things poison your next work of art that many people fail.

[@Nostalgiator]

There's always point to struggling. Writing is a job and a job not always fun. Anyway, how many books you wrote?

[@yingyang1008]

@@Nostalgiator Haven't written any books but I work as a writer Struggling to do my job is fine as it isn't art - struggling to make art is usually going to be pointless - you have to be in a flow state

[@oscarhaydenperditionbound1195]

Someone should've carved "Bim! Bim! Bim!" on his gravestone

[@LeeWanner]

+Oscar Hayden (Perdition Bound) Hahaha, I like that. BIM BIM BIM!

[@raanelom]

his gravestone actually says "Dont Try"

[@LeeWanner]

"Somebody asked me: "What do you do? How do you write, create?" You don't, I told them. You don't try. That's very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It's like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or if you like its looks, you make a pet out of it." - Charles Bukowski

[@Germoney2000]

raanelon = his gravestone actually says "Don't even try!" with a carving of a boxer....

[@Germoney2000]

raanelom = I stand corrected.... his gravestone truly says "Don't Try".... there's a Story behind it.... People asked him how he creates and he answered he "I don't try.... I just wait for it to happen....

[@Malegys]

I have this whole interview/special on Bukowski on an old video tape from Belgian TV. Will have to get it digitally transferred one day.

[@dileep-kumar]

Seeing him reminds me being a failure in 30's is not an end to the life. Thanks for interviewing such a great inspiration and personality who do not emphasize on rat race.

[@ivanleseigneur8152]

Bukowski was the Rolling Stones of literature, forget the adjectives and adverbs, get to the core of the story. I love this guy

[@silversnail1413]

Interestingly enough, Bukowski attended a Rolling Stones show in the 70's and wrote an article about it for Creem magazine. I don't think he was very impressed since he preferred classical music to rock 'n roll but it's a pretty hilarious piece of work and well worth reading.

[@louskunt9798]

What instrument did he play?

[@Uncletoast52]

He must have been pretty good. His books that I owned were stolen.

[@LeeWanner]

Now THAT BIMS!

[@salamisammy]

biggest fear 😳

[@DocHoliday444]

Who the hell steals books, especially from other people?

[@k.k9206]

I'm going to assume his books are from the library. How else do you know when a book is stolen? I also would assume that they were probably just getting rid of the stock.

[@cohenkane2148]

Must have been good? Ya didn't read them? I'm glad someone stole them.

[@pevensielavere22]

I freaking love this guy. Tells it like he sees it. Great poet of glister and grit. BUK!!

[@kltanisha]

bimbimbim the first time i read bukowski i was absolutely shocked by his writing. Thanks old man. bimbimbim

[@LeeWanner]

BIM BIM BIM! BIM BIM BIM!

[@archiepratt2499]

I can listen to him talk until the scotch is gone, he's honest and constructive with his criticism. But at the same time he can make u enjoy life, happy or sad, he brings an energy that cannot be replicated. I didn't even meet him but I felt like he gave me years of experience that'll help me down the road. My I welcome death as an old friend. And I hope he brings some Canadian whiskey with him.

[@markmarsh27]

Mickey Rourke impersonated Bukowski to create his incredible Barfly performance. ...... and the book the movie is based on was WRITTEN by Charles Bukowski. .... amazing movie .... highly recommended.

[@steveymcneckbeard]

Thanks for the recommendation

[@marcottavi2655]

that is amazing. when hes looking at the interviewer at the end.. a fuckin big heart man..

[@whit2642]

I love to listen to him. His voice and the way it drones along yet weaves through all types of thought. He is a favorite poet of mine. “Each line must have it’s juice. Bem bem bem.” Yes. Exactly.

[@dominicdiorio]

His style of writing seems similar to Orwell’s. Brevity and power over length and precise detail. Love this guy.

[@dtracke]

The interviewer sounds like Borat at 0:10 "Why? You have a nice wife"

[@matiaskasimis754]

I cant unhear It now

[@andreww5574]

we're tough men together through the horrors of life.

[@xanthirudha]

You need to have juice in each line...

[@rahimel-mulla2894]

Jonas Kgomo Like BIM BIM BIM & BIM BIM BIM

[@welhynole4082]

That’s a quote from Jon Jones

[@jacobbegley5026]

309 divided by 3 is 103

[@DanQVeryMuch]

@@welhynole4082 You're a fucking genius, mate.

[@nc375]

why don't they just say that in school?

[@truecrimewjared2469]

The man truly was a genius, he had demons like Us all, but he was spot on in his description of how every single sentence should be a motivator for the reader to continue to the next page.

[@ryadh456]

Godamn I love his voice, it's southern, deep and just elongated.

[@marcconyard5024]

Some of the most confrontational yet satisfying stuff I’ve ever read. RIP you bastard❤️

[@sarahsssable]

An immortal man can't be afraid of death.

[@anaranjadisimo]

Zero juice in your phrase

[@JosephE-yd6ks]

A valiant attempt at profundity

[@Ch0sen33]

Well I guess "profundity" is subjective, I liked your statement :)

[@unabashed26]

Sara Sina nor an immoral one.

[@basementgang6911]

Dont listen to the haters, thats a dope ass statement

[@Shardul280694]

Jack Nicholson would have been a great choice to play this man, if ever!!

[@Dachshundlovr]

oh that would be marvelous !

[@JonathanNelsonOfficial]

Christian Bale too

[@adamisaac4685]

Mickey Rourke did a good job in barfly. "Fuel I need fuel"

[@dimmykarras9287]

With that overused trademark smile of his and fake mannerisms? I don't think so.

[@messianic_scam]

@@JonathanNelsonOfficial Noooo

[@AFO_AnalyRics]

Depending on who you are and where you are in life, you'll find this very wise or very meaningless...... and that's what art is all about.

[@yamatokurosawa5763]

Somewhere in between

[@Jeremyramone]

All art is useless. Oscar Wilde

[@brentcrude8153]

@@Jeremyramone Marcel DuChamp proved that with R. Mutt, Urinal.

[@mulliniks51]

Leonard Bernstein once said ' The only bad music is boring music . Music should never be boring "

[@thomasodonnell9221]

He was quite a writer. I think his stories will be read centuries from now.

[@ff-gi3ge]

Its timeless. Written in the 70’s, I can picture it being written tomorrow.

[@alfogel3298]

He was very prolific and diverse and could write poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and even paint.. We had a Correspondence in the late 70s and I had about 28 letters from Bukowski. They were great. All love, Al

[@patrickmohan2220]

@@ff-gi3ge He was writing right up until his death in the 90's. 'The Last Night of the Earth Poems' his last collection is pretty sad and worth a read. An old dog lying down after all that madness. Poems about watching his cat and wife out in the garden when he knows he's dying. Stunning and heartbreaking

[@ff-gi3ge]

Patrick Mohan thanks man, I will definitely check that out. I read the ”Notes of a Dirty Old Man” and I agree, Bukowski’s life went down hill straight from the beginning.

[@PoetMountain]

You have to put some juice into your words. Great way to put it.

[@dameerdj5403]

I've stumbled upon this vid a couple of mins ago and Hank took me back to days when I was 17. He was my fave writer. I just figured out that I didn't do much for the last 26 years of my life. Shit happens tho.

[@ricgus2883]

his last two lines demonstrate his entire point: be sharp and quick, like Nietzsche instructed. "we're tough men together, through the horrors of life."

[@fazsaeed]

"We are tough men together through the horrors of life" - Charles Bukowski firing off some poetry gold off the cuff.

[@moussetache1815]

That was the best ending to any video on KZbin, period.

[@benjones4389]

There is no doubt he was a great man, so charismatic, so real

[@spacealienjesus709]

To me Bukowski was the most real writer to put thoughts to paper My favorite author..

[@therespectedlex9794]

The touching music at the end. Like a little tear jerker.

[@sclogse1]

Waits. From Small Change.

[@horaciopin21]

Tom Waits - Tom Taubert's Blues.

[@bowlingstoned2113]

I come back to this and every other interview and doc to remind myself from time to time to not let the embers die.

[@voicegirl555]

Happy Happy 100th Birthday! I am a recent fan of yours and like your poetry. I wish I had met you. You were like nobody else. One of a kind!!

[@camrynhernandez5996]

I gravitate to Bukowski’s cadence. When reading other “famous” writers I feel a little drowned with set up and slow beats that I sometimes lose interest. Bukowski, for me, makes reading enjoyable. It’s like a fun conversation with a friend. Then you check your page number and can’t believe you’ve screamed passed 20 pages already. Hollywood was the first book of his that I read and was completely captured from the start. Same with Post Office. Really enjoy his point of view.

[@HenryChinaski614]

A genius in the content and honesty of his writing. I can only imagine the impact his writing has on people.

[@lizvill73]

Just discovered this guy. Oh my god, I'm so happy. Oh fuck....

[@8seddat]

Bukowski kinda reminds me of Mike Tyson. Its that specific windsom and humbleness. Also you see the warm kindness in their eyes and you feel the light. What a legend!

[@EnligUlv]

His description of each line “bim bim bim” reminds me of Sam Shepard’s style of short writing as in Cruising Paradise which reads exactly this way. Great stuff. 🤙🏼

[@swarm5235]

Raw, real, authentic voice.

[@batfly]

The illusion of grasping onto to the somethings which never existed to begin with; This is what you're after. And the way you feel when you think you got hold of it.

[@ege5804]

I would just like to sit next to him open up a bottle of scotch and listen to his words till the fucking sun comes up .

[@ianmccormick7051]

Ege Coskunsoy I get the sense that you wouldn't. The fact that you would want to be around him would only piss him off, and make him want to piss you off. If you bought the alcohol he'd drink it all himself. If he bought it, he'd let you drink it and then cuss you out for not being grateful enough. From everything I've read about the man he was a prick who didn't have much use for people, and only happened to be a great writer. I love his books, but I'd stay the fuck away given the chance to meet the man for more than a few minutes.

[@ege5804]

Ian McCormick That is a nice nice point of view actually .

[@MrBrunothedog]

Wow you just out hipstered a hipster

[@brianbarrett192]

I love this interview. I learned so much about writing from it. Also, it is philosophically profound, the ending statement (which is obscured by the over-play of Tom Waits music): "We're tough men, together, through the horrors of life!" If the loud music can be removed, this clip would be much better.

[@omainomai]

Watching a string of these interviews back to back, the repeat that he mentioned in this one stood out. Especially at the end when noticed the interviewer lost interest because they couldn't grasp what he was talking about. Those are some tasty bits Bukowski.

[@ericdts]

His words are strong stuff and true, specially about "the juice". Art has to have that juice. And the end is sick: "we are tough men together through the horrors of life"

[@khch_69]

He's a damned genius

[@ginsu7077]

Victor R. Ok Victor

[@keefriffhard70]

"If you go, go ALL the way!"

[@jimw.4161]

RIP CB! You were the best and never boring. Your words are greatly missed.

[@anonimust4203]

Easier said than done, it takes a truly great poet to talk about words this way because they come so effortlessly to him.