Charles Bukowski and his epic life

Sometimes, in the case of writers, celebrity appears only after their death. This is exactly what happened, to a large extent, to a big name in modern universal literature: Charles Bukowski (1920-1994). An eccentric character with a controversial lifestyle, Bukowski was seen at the same time as an erudite person.

What has attracted everyone to his works is ruthless honesty. Charles Bukowski was of German descent. The writer considered that his greatest love during his life was alcohol. He tried it for the first time when he was very young, then he developed a constant passion for alcohol throughout his life. All of Bukowski's novels are autobiographical, and their main character, Henry Chinaski, is the writer's alter ego.

As a child, the future writer had permanent conflicts with his family, especially with his father, who left a major mark on his character. Bukowski's behavior was often accompanied by open aggression. At the same time, he loved animals very much and hated with all his heart those who were cruel to them. Bukowski mentions in his books that he has had so many scandals in his life that he can't even remember them. His strong and daring character often brought him out of difficult situations, but on the other hand, he never had any serious problems with the law.

For many years, Bukowski was employed at the post office. The events that took place during this period of life were the basis of the novel Post. Almost all of the writer's works abound in obscene language, so most of them have the "+18" warning on the cover.

Bukowski hated being around people

The claim that writers are anti-social can be a cliché. About J.D. Salinger is known to have been very withdrawn. Others, such as Cormac McCarthy and Thomas Pynchon, gave interviews and then did not know how to escape the spotlight faster. In comparison, Bukowski came out more: he was more honest in interviews, but many times he admitted that he is a misanthrope. "Even if I write about people, the farther I stay from them, the better I feel. Two kilometers is a good distance, 2000 km is a wonderful distance. I don't like the human species. I don't like people's heads, their faces, their legs, or their conversations. I don't like their haircuts or their cars. "

He had a cat

As a result, Bukowski had a cat named Minx. In the poem My Cats, he says: “Cats complain but never worry, they go on with surprising dignity. I sleep with a direct simplicity that people cannot understand. When I feel depressed, all I have to do is look at my cats and regain my courage. ” It's one of the few times that Bukowski shows his sentimental side.

He was friends with Sean Penn and Bono

Bukowski became much better known after his death, but even during his life he was not a niece. And, despite the contempt for people, he was interested enough to make friends with famous people. He went out drinking with Sean Penn and received free tickets to the U2 concerts at Bono. In the documentary Born into this, Penn describes an evening of drunkenness with Bono, in which they both recited verses from Bukowski. After talking on the phone with the writer and discovering that his wife, Linda, is a big U2 fan, Bono invited them to the next concert in Los Angeles, where he dedicated a play to them. According to Bono, Bukowski was taken by surprise: "I think I moved the old fucker.

He hated Mickey Mouse

Bukowski hated not only people but also other famous people. In Born into this, Linda, his wife, explained the writer's hatred of Mickey Mouse, especially for the character's three fingers. "He couldn't admit that a three-fingered character had such a big impact on millions of people. Spunea că Mickey e un personaj prostesc, care nu te învață nimic, care nu exprimă nimic real, o fantezie nenorocită, un șoarece care nu e bun de nimic și nu e nici măcar creativ. He was dismayed by Mickey Mouse and hated him, saying he didn't even have a soul. "

The rapper Modest Mouse has a song called "Bukowski". The lyrics are a bit harsh, but not far from the truth: "Yes, I know he's a very good writer, but, God, why does he have to be so vile?" Te-ai putea întreba de ce, însă după ce privești acest clip în care Bukowski își lovește cu violență soția și o numește „curvă nenorocită” înțelegi sensul. Sometimes he did behave like a bastard, and Linda Lee Bukowski knew this term in depth.

He survived on chocolate bars

When he was 40 and a writer struggling to make ends meet, Bukowski lived in miserable, rented, and filthy hotel rooms. At that time, he could barely buy food and lived on cheap chocolate. "At one point I ended up living on one chocolate bar a day. It costs 10 cents. And I remember it was called Payday. It was so tasty that at night I would wake up to take a bite and it looked wonderful ”.

Matt Dillon played Bukowski

In the 1987 film Barfly, Mickey Rourke plays Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's literary alter ego. A bizarre choice, because at the time, Rourke still had an image of the male sex symbol of Hollywood. No matter how much he crouched down and mumbled like Chinaski, Rourke couldn't bring out all that drunken mannerisms - he was too fine and his gestures seemed exaggerated.

Two decades later, Matt Dillon clicked to play the same Chinaski, losing the same mistakes. In 2013, James Franco staged the Bukowski biopic, in which the writer is played by Josh Peck. Another failure. And then we remember a statement by Bukowski: "I found out that Hollywood is crooked, more stupid, more cruel and more stupid than all the books I've read about it."