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Poem of the Week

the proud
thin
dying

I saw old people on pensions in the
supermarkets and they are thin and they are
proud and they are dying
they are starving on their feet and saying
nothing. long ago, among other lies,
they were taught that silence was
bravery, now, having worked a lifetime,
inflation has trapped them. they look around
steal a grape
chew on it. finally they make a tiny
purchase, a day's worth.
another lie they were taught:
thou shalt not steal.
they'd rather starve than steal
(one grape won't save them)
and in tiny rooms
while reading the market ads
they'll starve
they'll die without a sound
pulled out of roominghouses
by young blond boys with long hair
who'll slide them in
and pull away from the curb, these
boys
handsome of eye
thinking of vegas and pussy and
victory.
it's the order of things: each one
gets a taste of honey
then the knife.

Charles Bukowski

An outsider artist, self-proclaimed "dirty old man" and reprobate, Charles (Hank) Bukowski lived and loved, most of his life, in Los Angeles. He began drinking around the age of ten and began writing poetry at the age of 35. He drank heavily his whole life and was legendary for it, but alcohol could not kill him and he finally died of leukemia at the age of 73.

A longtime friend of Raymond Carver, Bukowski is considered one of the first of the "Dirty Realists" a literary school of which Carver became the best known.

I know of 4 films about Bukowski, a television documentary in the 60's, the movie "Barfly" starring Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway, another documentary in 2004, "Bukowski: Born Into This," and a 2005 film, Factotum, starring Matt Dillon.

Many rock bands and artists draw inspiration from Buk's work, taking band names and song titles from his poems, novels and stories. The Americana singer and songwriter, Tom Russell, created a musical setting of Bukowski's great poem, Crucifix in a Death Hand, on his Grammy winning album, Modern Art.

Posted at February 15, 2007 4:19 PM