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LAST CALL: the Bukowski Legacy Continues by Armstrong, R D (December 9, 2011) Paperback
A collection of poetry, essays, short stories and illustrations by some 42 contributors. This collection highlights a few of the faithful who are carrying the Bukowski standard forward into the 21st century. Some of the contributors Gerald Locklin, Todd Moore, Rebecca Morrison, Scott Wannberg, Mark Terrill, Charles Potts, Gerald Nicosia, Linda Lerner, Ann Menebroker, SA Grifin, Alan Catlin and RD Armstrong.
- GenresPoetry
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2004
15 people want to read
About the author
R.D. Armstrong
19 books25 followersRD Armstrong has been writing since high school, but it has only been in the last sixteen years that he has been his most consistent and prolific. Besides writing poetry and short fiction, he is also the publisher of the Little Red Book series (59 titles and counting)and for 11 years published the Lummox Journal, a small print digest of the literary arts. Many of the titles are available on the Lummox Press website.
In 2008 RD decided to publish a four volume collection of his best work: Fire and Rain - Selected Poems 1993-2007 Vols. 1 & 2; On/Off the Beaten Path - 3 Long Road Poems; and El Pagano and Other Twisted Tales (short stories).
Lummox Press also plans to publish a Best of the Little Red Books collection early in 2009, as well as, a collection of essays and a passage from The Name is Dillinger by Todd Moore.
In 2008 RD decided to publish a four volume collection of his best work: Fire and Rain - Selected Poems 1993-2007 Vols. 1 & 2; On/Off the Beaten Path - 3 Long Road Poems; and El Pagano and Other Twisted Tales (short stories).
Lummox Press also plans to publish a Best of the Little Red Books collection early in 2009, as well as, a collection of essays and a passage from The Name is Dillinger by Todd Moore.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 17, 2012
Visiting the World and Mind of Charles Bukowski
LAST CALL: THE BUKOWSKI LEGACY CONTINUES is yet another issue from Lummox Press which is growing in respect as a publishing house willing to deal with the at times darker, and at al times important aspects of contemporary writing and thinking. This book is a collection of poems, short stories and essays that have been informed by and reflect the very much alive legacy of the writer Charles Bukowski. Note to those not wholly familiar with this legend, the following biographical data will be useful: 'Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski (1920 - 1994) was an 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. In 1986 Time called Bukowski a "laureate of American lowlife". Regarding Bukowski's enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, "the secret of Bukowski's appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet's promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero."'
What RD Armstrong has given us is first his own experience with the legacy of 'Buk' (as Bukowski is referred to by followers and friends), and the following is an excerpt that explains his stance: 'So in this book I have attempted, again, to showcase a number of writers whose work shows the influences, not necessarily in style or form, but in the feelings that their pieces (especially true of poetry) provoke in the reader (or in the editor). Not too many reviewers ever address the visceral quality of Bukowski's writing, which seems odd to me since he was so fond of writing while listening to classical music, especially the darker stuff. It is music that tugs on one's feelings, pulling the dark undertones out and giving them a good shake. It is my opinion that Buk's poetry does the same.'
Some examples of the poems and stories RD Armstrong has compiled follow:
POEM by William Taylor, Jr.
the missing co-ed
is found dead
and the rent
is twelve days late
the milk has gone sour
and the sky is the color
of charcoal
and smells of
gasoline
heart disease
claims more lives
than cancer
these days
or maybe it's the
other way around
nobody knows how to
write a goddamned
song anymore
and the 21st century
was the dumbest thing
you ever bought
all the wars
you paid for are live
and in color
but the TV is broken
and the house,
the house is out of
whiskey again.
Or to insert one of RD Armstrong's own poems sort of ties it all together:
POETICS by RD Armstrong
Today in the checkout at Ralph's
The checker asks me
"Do you know Carlos Bukowski?"
Carlos I think?
I know a Charles Bukowski, why?
Please don't be insulted but
You remind me of him...
It's the week before Buk's
Ninetieth birthday
Even though he died almost
Twenty years ago
And plans to celebrate the
Glory that is everything Buk
Happen in Los Feliz this
Saturday night in a party
For the Bukowski faithful
And I
The forgotten
One of his ardent fans
Is being confused
For the old goat down
Here in Long Beach...
Yeah
I told the checker
I get that a lot
Me and Buk
Go way back
That's cool
She says
As she gives me
A deal on the Jif
Peanut butter I just bought
At last
My association with
Bukowski
Is finally paying off
This collection is brimming over with such jewels as this, poems and stories that pull up the stage on which Bukowski lived and drank and caroused and listened to Mahler and Bruckner et al and wrote. These works do not mimic or plagiarize Buk, but they are most assuredly under his influence which seems to grow more strong with the passage of time.
Grady Harp
LAST CALL: THE BUKOWSKI LEGACY CONTINUES is yet another issue from Lummox Press which is growing in respect as a publishing house willing to deal with the at times darker, and at al times important aspects of contemporary writing and thinking. This book is a collection of poems, short stories and essays that have been informed by and reflect the very much alive legacy of the writer Charles Bukowski. Note to those not wholly familiar with this legend, the following biographical data will be useful: 'Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski (1920 - 1994) was an 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. In 1986 Time called Bukowski a "laureate of American lowlife". Regarding Bukowski's enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, "the secret of Bukowski's appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet's promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero."'
What RD Armstrong has given us is first his own experience with the legacy of 'Buk' (as Bukowski is referred to by followers and friends), and the following is an excerpt that explains his stance: 'So in this book I have attempted, again, to showcase a number of writers whose work shows the influences, not necessarily in style or form, but in the feelings that their pieces (especially true of poetry) provoke in the reader (or in the editor). Not too many reviewers ever address the visceral quality of Bukowski's writing, which seems odd to me since he was so fond of writing while listening to classical music, especially the darker stuff. It is music that tugs on one's feelings, pulling the dark undertones out and giving them a good shake. It is my opinion that Buk's poetry does the same.'
Some examples of the poems and stories RD Armstrong has compiled follow:
POEM by William Taylor, Jr.
the missing co-ed
is found dead
and the rent
is twelve days late
the milk has gone sour
and the sky is the color
of charcoal
and smells of
gasoline
heart disease
claims more lives
than cancer
these days
or maybe it's the
other way around
nobody knows how to
write a goddamned
song anymore
and the 21st century
was the dumbest thing
you ever bought
all the wars
you paid for are live
and in color
but the TV is broken
and the house,
the house is out of
whiskey again.
Or to insert one of RD Armstrong's own poems sort of ties it all together:
POETICS by RD Armstrong
Today in the checkout at Ralph's
The checker asks me
"Do you know Carlos Bukowski?"
Carlos I think?
I know a Charles Bukowski, why?
Please don't be insulted but
You remind me of him...
It's the week before Buk's
Ninetieth birthday
Even though he died almost
Twenty years ago
And plans to celebrate the
Glory that is everything Buk
Happen in Los Feliz this
Saturday night in a party
For the Bukowski faithful
And I
The forgotten
One of his ardent fans
Is being confused
For the old goat down
Here in Long Beach...
Yeah
I told the checker
I get that a lot
Me and Buk
Go way back
That's cool
She says
As she gives me
A deal on the Jif
Peanut butter I just bought
At last
My association with
Bukowski
Is finally paying off
This collection is brimming over with such jewels as this, poems and stories that pull up the stage on which Bukowski lived and drank and caroused and listened to Mahler and Bruckner et al and wrote. These works do not mimic or plagiarize Buk, but they are most assuredly under his influence which seems to grow more strong with the passage of time.
Grady Harp
January 21, 2008
This was one of my favorite projects. I published in what would have been Buk's eightieth birthyear. It contains some really great poetry by the likes of William Taylor, Jr., Rebecca Morrison, Ann Menebroker, C. C. Russell, Henry Denander and other icons of the Alternative Small Press; as well as, some kick ass fiction and essays. 42 writers, poets and artists from all over the USA and several countries in Europe fill out this collection with a good, across the board view of the powerful influence of Bukowski's writing on them and they're writing style.
September 25, 2012
One helluva job of editing. Superb collection in the style with remembrances galore. No Buk lover should be without this tribute. ~mmw
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews