Bukowski, A Life: The Centennial Edition

by Neeli Cherkovski

The life of Charles Bukowski―laureate of lowlife Los Angeles―a novelist and poet who wrote as he lived. This is the only biography of Bukowski written by a close friend and collaborator.

Neeli Cherkovski began a deep friendship with Bukowski in the 1960s while guzzling beer at wrestling matches or during quieter evenings discussing life and literature in Bukowski’s East Hollywood apartment. Over the decades, those hundreds of conversations took shape as this biography―now with a new preface, “This Thing Upon Me Is Not Reflections on the Centennial of Charles Bukowski.”

Bukowski, author of Ham on Rye , Post Office , and other bestselling novels, short stories, and poetry collections only ever wanted to be a writer. Maybe that’s why Bukowski’s voice is so real and immediate that readers felt included in a conversation. “In his written work, he’s a hero, a fall guy, a comic character, a womanizing lush, a wise old dog,” biographer Neeli Cherkovski writes. “His readers do more than glimpse his many-sidedness. For some, it’s a deep experience. They feel as if his writing opens places inside of themselves they might never have seen otherwise. Often a reader comes away feeling heroic, because the poet has shown them that their ordinary lives are imbued with drama.”

Full of anecdotes, wisdom, humor, and insight, this is an essential companion to the work of a great American writer. Long-time Bukowski fans will come away with fresh insights while readers new to his work will find this an exhilarating introduction. “In his death, I hear him clearly,” Cherkovski writes. “His voice comes to me resonant, full of unforced authority, a message of endurance, self-reliance, and honesty of expression. At the same time, he is also saying, ‘Poetry is a dirty dishrag. Keep laughing at yourself on the way out the door.’ ”

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Poetry, Writing

376 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 1991

About the author

Neeli Cherkovski (born Nelson Innis Cherry) grew up in Los Angeles, California and moved to San Francisco in 1974, where he was a member of the vibrant North Beach literary community. He has lived with Jesse Cabrera since 1983. Cherkovski has published many books and his work has been translated into many languages. His papers are archived at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He is a recipient of an American Book Award, a Josephine Miles National Literary Award, and is a San Francisco Public Library Literary Laureate. A Greek translation of Cherkovski's selected poems will be published in 2024 and his book of portrait poems will be published by City Lights Books in 2025. He is currently working on a memoir of his life, as well as a collection of literary essays.

Reviews

[Kyriakos Sorokkou]

Διαβάστε και την κριτική στα Ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες.

At long last, I'm less than ten books from catching up with my reviews.
Finally a review for a book I read last month!

This year marks the 100th anniversary since Charles Bukowski's birth in 16/08/1920.
One of the greatest poets and writers of dirty realism.

I only read one collection of short stories by Bukowski called Tales of Ordinary Madness, and I needed to read more by him.
But first I decided to read his biography, written by his close friend and biographer Neeli Cherkovski.

This edition came out this July as a centennial edition to commemorate the 100 years since his birth.

A literary icon of Los Angeles that some might find a misogynist and a womanising drunkard.
But certainly that's not true if you read his biography. The misanthropic womaniser was a persona.

He suffered from a brutal father in his childhood.
The first chapters that were about his childhood were hard to read but at the same time eye-opening.

He also suffered as a young man trying to find acceptance both as a person and as a writer, and also to find a stable job.
Bukowski eventually finds this stable job.
He was going to spend more than a decade in a Los Angeles Post Office, a job he hated but also a job that gave him foder to write the novel «Post Office».
His first novel at the age of 50.
And from then onwards he quitted this menial job and fully dedicated the rest of his live in writing poetry and prose.

These sufferings made him the writer he was.
I've seen dozens of interviews and documentaries about him and I can't have enough. 

After reading his biography I'm now ready to embark on a Bukowskian journey, reading his novels chronologically, and his poetry spontaneously.

If you are a fan of Bukowski, then this book is ideal for you, and of course it has a gorgeous cover too.

[Jennifer Blowdryer]

this book is controversial and shouldn't be - it's a priveledge (sp?) to know more about the man, his father really tried to extinguish him and it was spectacularly bad. The relation he had with small press publishers is so entwined, noble people. Many writers player hate or imitate this guy, maybe because he made it look easy - it wasn't.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Ham on Rye, Bukowski's autobiography of his childhood, and it's easy to understand why he was a hardcore alcoholic. His father was emotionally detached and brutal to him, and Bukowski's behavior of substance abuse, and not be able to maintain relationships or jobs is typical of personality disorder that is common in traumatized children. I just don't think that Cherkovski's book adds a lot to the story other than Bukowski's public persona was fictional. He often used women to support him, and was successful enough in his later life to have a middle class life. No doubt he had talent as a writer but perhaps his life was his greatest work of fiction.

[Lefty Right · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much all of this we know from his work. Really a rehashing of his books in lesser words. An interesting aspect is reading the insights into his poems.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I read a biography it is obvious that the author really likes, approves of or just thinks their person is wonderful. This book has a definite hint of the glowy-eyed. Sometimes this is annoying as it means not getting the full story. Other times it doesn't matter, because though the biography may seem a bit biased it creates more of a warm feeling - a sharing of the love - than sufficient reason to either dismiss it completely, or respond negatively to the rest of it. This one is the latter. The author genuinely hugely admires Charles Bukowski and his work, but there also moments where he admits there are parts of HB he doesn't quite understand albeit followed with an attempt aimed at putting a positive spin. His admiration shows most in sections when he relates arrogant and invasive behaviour by Bukowski towards strangers, acquaintances, fellow poets, learner poets and friends. That (personal) reservation aside, this is an informative and highly entertaining biography worth reading for a comprehensive background of the poet and the times in which he wrote. The bits I found unconvincing, that is the rationalisations for arrogant and unpleasant behaviour, is as bad as it gets, and overall is not done heavily enough to do damage to either author or, to an extent, Bukowski. There are reasons in his childhood for him to be self-defensive, and later in a PO job he held down for years, and he has definite moments of grace. Plus there is his poetry which still leaps out from the pages like a blast of cold, fresh air in the rarified and congested air of those whose definition of what poetry, especially 'good' poetry, is compared to Bukowski and those who admired him. I learnt a lot from this book and would have preferred to give 5 and a half stars if I could.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just about perfect biography about Hank, written by a close friend. Highly recommended for all the friends of a Dirty Old Man :)

[Joe Avary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially appreciated the insight into Bukowski’s early publication history in the little magazines... and Neeli’s telling of the trip to Busch Gardens was hilarious 😂

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without question this is the number one Bukowski biography. It puts all the others in the shade. Those familiar with Bukowski's writing, will find particular resonance.

[Tony Wheeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

...But this just seems like a long book report.

I’m halfway through this book, and I haven’t learned anything new, aside from a few of the real names of people who appear in Bukowski’s books. All the biographical details are already in those original volumes, so anyone familiar with them already knows these stories. Cherkovski strips away the humor and inventive language of the original tales, reducing them to bite-sized chunks. I’m not entirely sure what the point of this biography is, as it doesn’t shed any new light on a complicated man. Perhaps it aims to convince a broader audience that Chinaski was, indeed, a real person, but that reality was well-established long before this was written.

If I'm wrong, I will edit this review. If this is unaltered, then my opinion has not changed.

[Klaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

auf deutsch gelesen. gibt gute einblicke ohne glorifizierung

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good bio of Bukowski's life, fairly comprehensive, fairly well-written. The book is told through the lens of Cherkovski's personal friendship with "Hank," and at times Cherkovski inserts a little too much of himself into the book, which is off-putting, since with most biographies the author is absent. Focus should be on the subject. There are (supposedly) verbatim conversations between Cherkovski and Bukowski, but how do we know these are exact or even recorded so as not to show the author in a better light? The big gaps where the author didn't know Bukowski seem more glossed over, like his childhood or the late years before his death. It would've been nice to have more interview material from his wives or daughter. Overall, however, we get a good sense of Bukowski, warts and all. He wasn't quite as wild as his alter ego, Henry Chinaski, but he was still an inveterate gambler, an alcoholic, and something of a womanizer. His troubled childhood and youth can't quite excuse his bad behavior later in life. He is often rude and hurtful to other people. But he was a relentless writer. For years, he cranked out poems. Cherkovski has perhaps overly adoring praise for the poetry, which wasn't always good. Sometimes Bukowski would crank out four or five poems a day to fill up a collection. He had the good fortune of meeting the editor of Black Sparrow Press early on, or one wonders if he would've had more trouble finding a home for his collections. It seems that Bukowski switched to prose because he knew it would land him a bigger readership and more money. You can't really blame him for wanting to be comfortable after a lifetime of living in squalor. Taking everything into account, he is an important literary figure, particularly as an LA writer, and a necessary subject for a biography.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Bukowski I was quite interested in this book and even though it gave me some more insight in the life and brain of Bukowski, a lot has already been covered in his own books. Cherkovski can be brutally honest at times, but also doesn't really tell us something we couldn't have already read. Perhaps this repetition of Bukowski's own work is the reason I've put this book aside quite a few times before finishing.

This book is a nice-to-read if you're a big fan of Bukowski. If not, I would suggest reading Bukowski's own book 'Ham on Rye' or any of his other alter ego Henri Chinaski.

Still 3 stars for the Buk and his crazy life!

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read /Bukowski, A Life: The Centennial Edition/, by Neeli Cherkovski:

http://www.godine.com/book/bukowski-a...

While I've read Bukowski's poetry, I had no idea about his backstory, nor how prolific he was (there are about 80 books listed herein, including a lot of his prose, which I've never read).

It's motivating to learn that such a degenerate alcoholic could still make it as a poet and writer...

[Richard Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere near as indepth as the Sounes book, given Cherkovski was a friend Bukowski and likely had tinted glasses

[Aleyda]

So far, so weird and dark. And cool. Very.

[Hector Suriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Don’t try” - Charles Bukowski, words that frighten yet bear hope. This man lived one hell of a life, literally. I loved his brutal passion and no-nonsense approach to life and his work.

[Josh Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even as a big Bukowski fan — and someone who has spoken to Neeli previously — I still learned things I didn't know before. Definitely recommended.

[Brian Pappas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of stuff I already knew about, but some pretty good insights, considering the author was a close friend of Buk.