Charles Bukowski

John Martin

A selection of the best poetry from America's most iconic and imitated poet, Charles Bukowski.

Poems, 1951-1993

The Pleasures of the Damned

To his legions of fans, Charles Bukowski was—and remains—the quintessential counterculture icon. A hard-drinking wild man of literature and a stubborn outsider to the poetry world, he wrote unflinchingly about booze, work, and women, in raw, street-tough poems whose truth has struck a chord with generations of readers. Edited by John Martin, the legendary publisher of Black Sparrow Press and a close friend of Bukowski's, The Pleasures of the Damned is a selection of the best works from Bukowski's long poetic career, including the last of his never-before-collected poems. Celebrating the full range of the poet's extraordinary and surprising sensibility, and his uncompromising linguistic brilliance, these poems cover a rich lifetime of experiences and speak to Bukowski's “immense intelligence, the caring heart that saw through the sham of our pretenses and had pity on our human condition” (New York Quarterly). The Pleasures of the Damned is an astonishing poetic treasure trove, essential reading for both longtime fans and those just discovering this unique and legendary American voice.

y✦

✦ the definitive bukowski collection 
✦ came across familiar ones i've loved, even memorized at some point, others i just hate sm 
✦ raw, flawed, bitter, drunken, bordering on dangerous, but also kept 💯 real
✦ never meet ur heroes material

THE BEST OF THE BEST OF BUKOWSKI The Pleasures of the Damned is a selection of the best poetry from America's most iconic and imitated poet, Charles Bukowski. Celebrating the full range of the poet's extraordinary sensibility and his uncompromising linguistic brilliance, these poems cover a lifetime of experience, from his renegade early work to never-before-collected poems penned during the final days before his death.The Pleasures of the Damned is an astonishing poetic treasure trove, essential reading for both long-time fans and those just discovering this unique and important American voice.

Selected Poems 1951-1993

Gavin

An anti-social phallocrat waves his pen in the wee small hours – yet often achieves beauty. This is a Best-of, but actually not his best. Still a very good way in.

Bukowski is Springsteen after Rosalita, Mary, Janey, Sandy, Trudy and the rest either moved town forever to get away from him or died.

Jade Flynn

'I wish I had a cure for the chess pieces we call humanity'. 

Some of my favourites: 

- the genius of the crowd 
- hell is a lonely place
- gold in your eye 
- democracy 
- funhouse 
- the burning of a dream 
- mind and heart 
- twilight musings 
- like a dolphin

The Pleasures of the Damned Poems, 1951-1993

Reviews