Book Description
Twaynes United States Authors Series Series Editors: Frank Day, Clemson University Joseph M. Flora, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Pattie Cowell, Colorado State University Ruth K. MacDonald A volume in Twaynes Authors Series of literary criticism offers a critical introduction to the life and work of a particular writer, to the history and influence of a literary movement, or to the development of a literary genre. Primarily devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an authors work, the study not only takes account of major literary trends and important contributions in scholarship and criticism but also provides new critical insights and an original point of view. Authors Series volumes are rooted in the original works themselves and address readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writers work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading the Authors Series study, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Bukowski is now solidly established in the the modern canon and it is time for a considered study to assess his importance. Gay Brewers account of Bukowskis tumultuous life and his unique stories and poems bring this writer into clear focus. An excellent bibliography enhances this long-awaited biocritical study.
Charles Bukowski FROM THE PUBLISHER
Apropos of his reputation as the underground poet, Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) developed a public persona of poseur, abusive performer, and violent curmudgeon. Bukowski's embrace of this self-aggrandizing image belies his dedication to the trade of writing. The poem was his lifeline to sanity, to immediate reclamation of daily events, and to the transformation of the mundane into the extraordinary. His poems, short stories, and novels, like the man himself, resist easy classification. Brilliantly intuitive in turning autobiographical material into art, Bukowski shares with Ernest Hemingway - whose influence Bukowski acknowledged - the central subject of the male psyche, a preoccupation with death, a heavy reliance on dialogue, and a marvelous linguistic economy. However, Bukowski consistently set himself apart by his use of humor - Hemingway's tragic fatalism recast as absurd black comedy. Bukowski's persistent focus on the working class and those on the fringes of society, his unrepentant use of drink and scatological idiom - these in the context of his assault on academe and shaped by his ribald and insouciant humor - set him apart stylistically, ideologically, and in the critical reception his work has received. In Charles Bukowski, the first comprehensive, full-length study of the author's explosive career, Gay Brewer skillfully assesses the literary significance of Bukowski's astounding body of published work. Brewer deals extensively with Bukowski's themes, shifting styles, influences, and excellence in several areas, and examines by genre - novels, short prose, and poetry - every significant work published by Bukowski in his lifetime. Although he had been publishing poetry regularly in small underground and alternative presses since the 1950s, he remained a relatively obscure author until late in life. His first novel, Post Office, was published in 1971. Brewer incisively discusses the conflict that came with celebrity upon the 1987 release of the autob
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