Hank would have been 91 today. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did considering how hard he tried to end sooner. I stumbled on Bukowski through a great article about him in Film Comment magazine when "Barfly" was coming out and it made me curious enough to get one of his books, "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame" and it branded my vision. The older I get, the more I understand what he laid down. There is a directness and truth to his writing that never fails to pierce my soul and help burn the bullshit away. Here's a little taste of Hank reading "dinosauria, we". Reminds me of Leonard Cohen's "The Future". Get a good jar of the red, close your eyes and listen to this:
OK HW
Wild Turkey 101, he would if been proud.
ReplyDeleteOnly the good stuff for the dead...
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you where I ran into him: Red Hot Chili Peppers --
ReplyDeleteBeing that I'm the duke of my domain
My hat goes off to Mark Twain
Singing a song about what true men don't do
Killing another creature that's kind of blue
Writing about the world of the wild coyote
Good man Truman Copote
Talking about my throughts 'cause they must grow
Cock my brain to shoot my load
I'm on the porch 'cause I lost my housekey
Pick up my book I read Bukowski
Can I get another kiss from you
Kiss me right here on my tattoo
Had to go find out who this guy was after that -- then again, it might have been something you wrote about him even before that -- either way, I'm glad I know who he was now --