Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

when Bukowski was writing
the world was a different place
but not so different, yes Hank drank
but his words sank to the bottom
of the bottle

when Bukowski was writing
he knew what was bullshit
through his writer mind
his poet persona, he was seeing
the world in its most material reality
his words came from the most obvious
view of things as they appear
through the harsh pen of life
as it exists in the drunken alley
between the neon sign and oblivion

when Bukowski was writing
the world was almost as fucked up
as it is now, so he wanted to bring
some levity to the situation
by telling us just how fucked we are
and at the same time showing us
the hands on the clock
as they point to the midnight of midnights

Hank wanted to show us that poetry
is a dead man's art, and pansy poets
need not apply, you are only here to see
the writing on the shit stained wall
and maybe a butterfly before it becomes
extinct, our time here is numbered
poetry is only the view from
the bottom of the bottle, or the world

maybe Hank sank to the bottom
but not before destroying Micky Mouse
and a thousand other illusions
but he knew you only wanted to be entertained

revolutionR wrote:but he knew you only wanted to be entertained

...rather be engaged more than entertained or entertained thru engagement, some sparkle at least, some wit - some decent rage that causes paint to peel and stones to crack - something that will lead to singing a drum song - slip the trip loose the ropes let that rhythm flow go stuff words into the shotgun take aim at the universe unload both barrels at the same time go climb a mountain and take a shit at the top wwwooooooeeeeeeee there's way too much poetry and not enough word be the dishwater cabdriver what got sandlot & dairymaid - a duckweed bellhop with teaspoon & jellybean - weatherproof your blackjack quit the mainland be a blowgun bookkeeper with a toothpick between your teeth for the moonlight Eyelid ! O Eyelid !

PS - and don't forget to mothball your tadpoles when you grandchild your shoes !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvKBLIaSyAg

When I first was reading Buk, I always felt a kind of trepidation
he was not a beat and he was not a surrealist, but he had
something beat and surrealist about him, he stood out
and it allowed me to see what I was seeing in those other poets
he existed in his Los Angeles world, like you were seeing his
world through his times, He was German, he was not French.
It is not so much what he writes about, it is how he does it.
It was the seeming effortlessness of consistency he brought
through the squalor and nitty gritty of his surroundings.

I think a lot of non poets liked Bukowski because he made
them feel the poetic of their circumstances. Maybe Kerouac
made some feel that also, It's like Jack was shooting for the moon
and Bukowski was shooting for the end of night. I was reading
the Beats and French poets before I read Bukowski, so I
could only tke him in small doses, I had been into surrealism
and Bob Kaufman, but Buk brought another view into my
poetic scene, that like was there when I needed it.My Bukowski fix.
Hank saw the world in all its grotesque reality, like in his poem
Born into this, he saw what was really happening, but he also
could see delicate things, and listen to Mozart. He was a drinker
and a hard core lover too. One of kind. Like a Hemingway of a poet.

Also I did hear him read live once.