Reach for the Sun: Selected Letters 1978-1994, Volume 3

by Charles Bukowski

Literary Criticism. Reach for the Sun is the third volume of Bukowski's letters from Black Sparrow Press, selected by Seamus Cooney.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

250 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1999

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.

Reviews

[Manik Sukoco · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long-time reader of Buk,and a friend to whom he wrote, I was deeply interested in what a few more letters from the last years might tell me about this spectacular American writer. I learned a lot. He made wise poetry out of his correspondence, and this writing is as good as any of his other writing. It's full of specifics, about writers, about Peformance poets (whom he detested), about writing versus 'getting famous',about the botched biography of him written by N. Cherkovski about his leukemia, about his contempt for Hollwood, and about his dying. Mostly, it's about the courageous and outrageous word-wizard, Bukowski, slinging his attitudes to those who were listening,about how to keep life alive when so many around are just making life into a dead boring heap of competition. It is likely one his wisest books, and his humor jolts out frequently at the oddest times, creating that laugh-out-loud shock of the Real as he lays his defining cement with the coolest, toughest trowel ever used by an American writer.This is more of Bukowski at his best, especially for those who like to read between the lines.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been sitting on my bookshelf for years: a literary lioness, waiting for the right moment. This year was just that, and it struck, as any good writing does, with perfectly evolved talons, going straight for the jugular. This is not a book for the weak-hearted or the easily offended. It's wine-soaked, bruised and scabbed and bleeding at the knuckles. But there's an incredible heart at the bottom of that introverted crevasse, and if you can find it, you'll see why Bukowski is one of America's greatest.

[Matt Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bukowski is certainly a divisive literary figure, but those who take issue with themes and attitudes in his fiction would do well to give this a try. A collection of letters taken from the last two-or-so decades of his life, this book showcases Buk as a jaded but ultimately compassionate figure. Under the rough exterior was a artist so consumed by his craft and so averse to the grandstanding fakery that had washed over it like a fine mist. Taken as a summation of his views on the world and what it means to be truly alive, there’s a humanitarian lurking beneath the talk of constant drinking, health and relationship issues, and so on. It’s also arguably his strongest writing, as sharp and incisive as anything else he’s ever written.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good supplement to Bukowski's biography. Provides you some great details, especially about his last couple years when Bukowski was fighting various diseases. Volume III is Superior to Volume I. The previous volume was a little thin. Not suprising since, Bukowski was at the peak of his fame and fortune after 1977. How much you enjoy this book will depend on your interest in Bukowksi - the person.

[Azzam Izzatal · Rating 5 out of 5]

dari beberapa karya Charles Bukowski yang gw baca, novel maupun kumpulan puisi, justru buku berisi korespondensi surat menyuratnya antar sesama teman dan rekan penulis yang paling bernilai retensi untuk gw nikmati. retensi, you know, sekali di buka enggan berhenti

Bukowski adalah penulis amerika yang merayakan dan membanggakan sikap menyendirinya. introvert at its best

di surat ke Gerald Locklin tahun 1891, ia menjelaskan dirinya "i am one of these strange fuckers who finds great pleasure in being alone."

di surat ke Mike Gold tahun 1982, ia mengkritik penulis yang merasa lebih berbudaya setelah karyanya di kenal banyak orang. baginya sastrawan macam itu tidak lebih penting dari tukang ledeng "i could never see how being an oft-published poet could give that person a feeling of being elite. for instance, i am a lot more in awe of a plumber than a poet. the plumber can really do me something useful and not get the fat head about it"

tentang perempuan "What can a man do about women? When you first meet a woman she seems to show that she is different than the others but then when you get in deep with her she suddenly reverts and becomes exactly (with very minor variations) like the one which preceded her and the one which preceded that one and the one that…"

tentang menjadi pribadi yang berbeda "the problem with judging is that is always, almost always, done from your perspective. We are not, thank the devil, all alike."

tentang cinta sepasang kekasih "and you must understand that i have, still have, the love for both of you, here, now and later. your love for Jon was beautiful and holy. i always marveled at it, the almost maddening purity of it, the total. you brought him a gift that few men in our time, in our day, ever get."

[Rik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously I'll have to back-track and pick-up the previous collections. Perhaps the most interesting thing about reading these letters was that he was nearing the end of his life, and yet his tone never changed. Funny though, that his poetry output during this period was huge, and that he seemed to rate it: his stuff by this stage was barely poetry, let alone any good. And that's from a diehard fan!

[Kimberly Seibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always appreciated the way in which he pushes boundaries. He sounds the same in letters as he does in his prose and poetry. This book gives you insight into the background of his writing. These letters were written to publishers, other writers, and average Joes; you learn a lot about Bukowski as a person in this read, from the beginning of his writing career till' his death.

[Nicole]

What I had read, I liked. But I had put it down for so long that to be honest. I don't know if I'll ever actually read it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful view into a man whose poetry and prose sometimes showed a portrait of a cold strange man. I would recommend it for any Bukowski fan.

[Paul Hansbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was repetitive and sent me back to the real stuff. I wouldn't recommend it to any but diehard completists

[Jim Taone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not one to tell someone how or what to read but if you're a fan of Bukowksi's novels and bout reading the collections of his letters you're doing something wrong.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

este caballero fue soulmate.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insight into his schedule as he was a popular spoken word draw in the 70's.