What did Hank ever do for us?

Apart from cause mayhem, you say? And moan, rant, and be miserable?

Well, the correct answer is, as you already guessed: ‘Quite a lot actually’. The common perception of Henry Charles 'Hank' Bukowski is that of a curmudgeonly, hard-drinking, womanizing, gravel-voiced, stereotypically mad, bad poet and author. And yes, his life does rather read like one never-ending all day drinking session, one involving the cheapest booze and strongest cigarettes. A less typical reaction to the Bukowski name is the one where you're chatting about your fave books and people you like and whose opinion you respect lower their tone of voice to that of an almost hushed reverence, apparently anxious not to let anyone else in on the secret. Because, somehow, despite all the debauchery and liver damage, ‘Hank’ managed to churn out some of the most raw, unflinching, and often hilarious literature of the 20th century.

Post Office

Arguably his most famous novel (and one lodged firmly in my own personal pantheon of greats) is the amazing Post Office. Now, we would all quite naturally assume that a semi-autobiographical novel about a postie would be about as exciting as watching Sheffield Wednesday on a wet, well...Wednesday. But you'd be absolutely wrong. For Bukowski deftly manages to turn Henry Chinaski's insanely mundane job into a raucous, booze-soaked adventure.

Post Office. A 20th century Classic.

This startlingly original novel is packed with Bukowski's trademark humour – the kind that's so black, you can't help but laugh out loud. At one point, for instance, Henry, on the brink of losing his job, goes on a massive bender and shows up to work completely wasted. He proceeds to deliver the mail while slurring his words and falling down stairs. This may sound like ghastly slapstick but under Bukowski's control it becomes laugh out loud funny, reminiscent of the very best set pieces in Hunter S Thomson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Critically though, it's also a cuttingly insightful social commentary into how mind-numbingly boring and soul-crushing the jobs that many millions are forced into by circumstance can be.

But Post Office isn't just very, very funny. Bukowski’s alter ego Henry Chinaski is one of the all-time great working-class heroes, someone who's just trying to get by in a system that's rigged against him. Like many of us, he's constantly battling the forces of bureaucracy, apathy, and greed. And yet, despite all the obstacles, he manages to find some small measure of joy in life – albeit usually in the form of alcohol, sex, or both!

Man vs Myth

Born in Germany, Charles spent most of his life in Los Angeles, where he took on a series of odd jobs before becoming a full-time writer. A heavy drinker and smoker, he soon cultivated a reputation for being cantankerous and difficult to work with. You’ll see exactly what I mean if you watch his famous YouTube video! On the evidence of that one might reasonably assume that he was the kind of guy you wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with. However, being the private person that he was, I have more than a sneaking suspicion that he cultivated this persona to keep over-enthusiastic fans at bay, and further YouTube videos are testament to this. His charm shines through despite his very best efforts to cause offence to all and sundry. 

And of course, despite his numerous flaws, Bukowski was a natural, and what I would call a true literary genius. As well as producing many volumes of brilliantly original and moving poetry there are those six famous novels:

Six novels and some pretty hardcore poetry.

1. 1971 – Post Office
2. 1975 – Factotum
3. 1978 – Women
4. 1982 – Ham on Rye
5. 1989 – Hollywood
6. 1994 – Pulp

Confirming his universal appeal, his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He was a champion of the underdog, the downtrodden, and the marginalized, and not only in the United States. At a time when it was unpopular to do so, he wrote about the seedy underbelly of American society – the bars, racetracks, strip clubs and down at heel prostitutes – with an unflinching honesty that was both brutal and beautiful. 

Barfly

In 2005 a French-Norwegian enterprise produced a prequel to Hollywood's 1987's adaptation of Post Office. Factotum starred Matt Dillon and Marisa Tomei, and is supposedly pretty good. I must watch it one of these days. It is, however, Charles’ fifth novel, Hollywood, written in 1989 that generated all of the wonderful controversy that tends to stir the loins of a literary ghoul like myself.

Happier times!

Barfly, starring Mickey Rourke as Hank and Faye Dunaway (above) as Wanda, did achieve critical success. In the aftermath of this, many of the people concerned, including Bukowski - who wrote the screenplay for the movie - felt moved to comment on the 'creative process'. In one infamous interview Dunaway failed to name Bukowski,  instead simply referring to 'the author', and at that as 'a drunk'. Bukowski in turn said equally terrible things about Dunaway, effectively calling her a has-been, and mocking what he saw as her affectation. He was particularly scathing about her embrace of a media-driven persona as 'the last of the greats of Hollywood's golden era'. He disparaged Rourke's performance in similarly characteristically fashion. Some (unnamed) critics, commenting on Bukowski's behaviour at the time, described him as a 'louse and an 'arsehole'. Helpfully, there's a ton of opinion out there to enable you to make up your own mind!

Breaking bad

Charles’ early life was as fascinating as his later years. His childhood was marked by poverty and violence: his father a cruel and abusive man who beat him regularly. Bukowski would later write about these experiences in both poetry and prose, describing his father as a ‘monster’ and a ‘beast.’

As a teenager, he suffered terribly from acne and it's painfully clear from his writing that the deep shame he felt about this contributed to him becoming a rebellious and troubled youth. He dropped out of high school and began drinking heavily, often getting into fights and trouble with the police. He spent time in juvenile detention centers and ran away from home for a brief period. Detractors have claimed that he used his condition to aggrandize his self-mythologizing persona, but this seems harsh to me. To be humiliated by your peers at school and to have the opposite sex find you repulsive are not easy things to deal with, and they very obviously left lifelong mental (as well as physical) scars. For me, regardless of the extent of his honesty, he raises this issue with great bravery.

In his early twenties, Bukowski enrolled at Los Angeles City College, but dropped out after only a year. He then worked that aforementioned series of odd jobs to survive, including stints as a dishwasher and a truck driver. At this time he began writing poetry in his spare time, honing his craft and developing his unique style. His early writing being heavily influenced by the Beat poets, particularly Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. He also greatly admired Ernest Hemingway and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and their influence can be seen in his later work. His influences appear to have been widespread judging by the image below which appears to show a photocopy of Edgar Allan Poe on the front edge of his desk.

Some booze, some pieces of paper....

Bukowski’s War

In 1944, Bukowski was drafted and spent two years back in Germany at the end of World War II. These experiences in the army would later inform his writing, particularly his novel "Ham on Rye". After leaving the army, Bukowski returned to LA and continued to write. He submitted his work to various literary magazines and publishers, but it wasn't until the 60s that his work began to gain recognition. And considering that he died at 73, this came pretty late on.

Bukowski's entire life appears marked by struggle and hardship, but like many painters, sculptors, poets and writers this , helpfully for us, fuelled his intense creativity. His turbulent experiences as a young man shaped his unique worldview, helping him to develop the singular voice that would make him one of the most important writers of the 20th century. As a person, Bukowski is said to have been as complex and fascinating as he was funny, with his wry observations as shocking as they are hilarious.

In later life Bukowski, all the while with a twinkle in his eye, played to the gallery, and on his reputation for being an unpleasant person to be around.

Working on his image.

From what I’ve seen, this carefully crafted persona hid a deeply sensitive soul. Undoubtedly one of the most gifted writers of his generation, his poetry is perhaps where the clues to his true personality lie. This charismatic, highly intelligent man, possessed of great charm when his guard was down, will be remembered as one whose work, regardless of the myth of hard-drinking ‘Hank’, sits very comfortably within the realm of contemporary ‘classics.’