On Writing

185 Pages·2015·1.82 MB·English

by  Charles Bukowski

Contents
Editor’s Note
1945
1946
1947
1953
1954
1955
1956
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1975
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1988
1990
1991
1992
1993
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Charles Bukowski
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Editor’s Note
It’s virtually impossible to faithfully reproduce Bukowski’s letters as a large
number of them were profusely decorated with drawings and doodles. Similarly,
all the 1945–1954 correspondence was handwritten—coincidentally enough, it
was Bukowski’s infamous ten-year drunk, when he misleadingly said he didn’t
write at all, as if all the handwritten material was forgettable—and it cannot be
properly reproduced here. However, some distinctive letters have been reprinted
in facsimile so that they can be appreciated as intended by Bukowski.
To further preserve Bukowski’s peculiar letter writing, editorial changes have
been kept to a minimum. While Bukowski’s punctuation was quite accurate, his
spelling was whimsical at best, and he admitted as much. In this collection,
unintended typos have been silently corrected, while deliberate typos have been
kept in an attempt to preserve his voice as much as possible. Likewise,
salutations and closings, which were largely similar, have been omitted.
Bukowski was a prolific correspondent, and his letters were usually long,
discussing topics unrelated to the art of writing. Editorial omissions are then
represented by [ . . . ]. Editorial notes in the text also appear in brackets.
Bukowski used ALL CAPITALS for emphasis, and they have been replaced by
italics for book titles and by quotation marks for poem and short-story titles.
Dates and titles have been standardized, too. Other than these few editorial
changes, these letters appear here as Bukowski wrote them.
1945
Hallie Burnett coedited Story magazine, where Bukowski was first
published in 1944.
[To Hallie Burnett]
Late October 1945
I received your rejection of “Whitman: His Poetry and Prose,” along with the
informal comments of your manuscript readers.
Sounds like a nice thing.
Should you ever need an extra manuscript reader, please let me know. I can’t
find a job anywhere, so I might as well try you too.
1946
[To Caresse Crosby]
October 9, 1946

[To Caresse Crosby]
November 1946
I must write you once more to tell you how delighted I was to receive that
delicious photo—Rome 1946—and your note. As to the lost manuscripts—damn
them—they were no good anyhow—except maybe some violent sketches I made
while sponging on my parents in Los Angeles. But such stuff to the birds: I am a
poet, et al.
Drink still has me wavering—typewriter gone. Still, ha ha, I hand-print out
my stuff in ink. Have managed to get rid of three fair stories and four
unsatisfactory poems to Matrix, a rather old-fashioned Philadelphia “little