Bukowski 100 Poemas

by Charles Bukowski

A collection of 100 poems—on the occasion of his 100th birthday—from a writer whose transgressive legacy and raw, funny, acutely observant writing have left a vivid mark

Illuminated by a resonant voice and conjuring the desperation and absurdity of being human, the perceptive poetry of Charles Bukowski transcends its particular moment to speak to us as forcefully today as when it was written. Taking on a wide range of subjects—from love to death to sex to writing—Bukowski’s unvarnished poetry touches on enduring concerns while remaining sharply aware of the day-to-day. Collected on the occasion of his 100th birthday, these poems present the classic Bukowski, speaking to the deepest longings and strangest facets of the human experience. Granular yet expansive, this is tough, unrelenting poetry touched by grace.

Genres: Poetry

First published January 1, 1993

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

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente selección de poemas. Entre lo mejor del realismo sucio. El más incorrecto de todos los outsiders. El reverso absoluto de la decencia civilizada. El borracho decadente, pendenciero, apostador. El amante de mujeres casadas, perdidas, olvidadas. Ese Hank es el mismo que en estos poemas descubre belleza donde nadie la puede ver. Hay belleza sombría, belleza luminosa, belleza fragmentaria. Sobre todo, hay belleza humana. La poesía de Bukowski es humanista, su centro estético está en las personas. Alcohólicos, apostadores, suicidas, prostitutas. Las personas expulsadas a los márgenes del cruel sistema que domina el mundo son las musas de Bukowski, el fundamento de su poética. El prólogo de Enrique Symns -el Hank rioplatense- es otro relámpago de lucidez en medio de la oscuridad.

[eruditoderotterdam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplemente Bukowski. Un tipo como cualquiera. ¿Criticas hacia él? Muchas. ¿Escritura? Atrapante y descollante.

[Sheila Anguiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8