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Buk's Best:
A Personal Selection

By Jay Dougherty
© 2005. All rights reserved.

Lo and behold: Charles Bukowski's popularity continues to grow, years now after his death.

I studied Bukowski for many years, long before one could mention his name in academic circles without drawing blank stares--or derisive smirks. Ignorance or derision notwithstanding, I applied for and actually was given a research grant back in 1987 to study Bukowski's German (West German at the time) reception, which was considerably more enthusiastic and, dare I say, mature than the notice that he received in his own country.

Over the years, I of course read everything Bukowski wrote, including works that were not available to the general public. From 1985-87 I published a literary magazine called Clock Radio, to which Bukowski submitted material for at least three issues. Clock Radio is now a collector's item. Copies have sold on eBay for decent sums.

Over the years, I've received e-mail from students and others who have read my writings on Bukowski and asked me to recommend particular titles that provide a good overview of the man's work.

Here are the titles I consider his best:

Poetry

Title Description Buy
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame This poetry is among Bukowski's most lyrical, and it certainly demonstrates his best work before he had achieved any kind of widespread notoriety or fame. Here we see Bukowski writing about the life that created in him the vision of life that informed all of his work.
Play the Piano Drunk Got relationship troubles? So did Bukowski--and plenty of them. He writes about them very well here.
The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills This one has more going for it than a great title. The book I see as transitional: it's got some of the wonderful lyricism of Bukowski's earliest poetry but sees him transitioning in subject matter as he becomes more of a cause celebre.
Mockingbird Wish Me Luck Contains some of the most poignant poems that Bukowski ever wrote.
You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense Good example of the type of work Bukowski did in his later years: looser, chattier, less intense emotionally. I personally feel that many of these later books of poetry are interchangable, but some will disagree. Dangling in the Tournefortia is another one worth considering from this category.

 Novels and Prose

Title Description Buy
Ham on Rye This is Bukowski's tightest novel. It's well paced, well executed, and moving. Clearly Bukowski is at the height of his ability as a prose writer here. Many of his other prose works seem discursive at best.
Post Office Rough around the edges, this novel nevertheless provides a great deal of  autobiographical information that will help any new reader understand Bukowski's world and his reaction to it.
Notes of Dirty Old Man Rough and dirty early work, including the not-to-be-forgotten "Six Inches." This won't be everyone's cup of tea; still, if you're delving deeply (or at least six inches) into Bukowski, you'll want to pick up a good example of his early prose. This will do.