Is Bukowski any good? I'm in a mandatory 100 level year

Meh...I dunno.

Post office is great, he was just an alcoholic loser in that. The rest of his books he tries to make himself into a folk hero, or gentlemen artist at heart. I get really annoyed when he gets these grandiose ideas about himself, when what everyone likes about him is he's a fat, sad drunk who can write.

>>8765447
I'm not just trying to appeal to /lit right now, but this is the one instance where /lit is completely right. He is absolute trash. A complete hack. If you appreciate him when you were an edgy teen, fine, it's understandable. If you still like him as a university student, it is immediately apparent that you have no understanding of good poetry.

>>8765447
Cringe tier writing

All of his shit is basically the same

Interesting to read as a case study for autistic old crusty men, but not worth more than an hour of your time at the most

>>8765447
For 100 level courses? Kek, I suppose he's good.

>>8765447
He's a fucking insult to poetry. Never understood the appeal. Go read some Dylan Thomas to see it done better.

I like him but only because I what's genuine in all of his work is that he would not give a fuck what anyone thought about it. He's totally unashamed it's refreshing.

>>8765447
D I S G U S T I N G

BUKOWSKI IS TATTOO DEGENERATE TIER

KYS OP FOR EVEN ASKING THIS

S A G E

>>8765479

I'm in art history, it's a base level survey course I forgot to take. As I was saying, the first years keep talking about him when waiting for the TA to show up at tutorial

No discernible talent

>>8765447
He's very honest and blunt with himself and his writing. Sure he became a caricature in the end (and knew it) but his work is about perseverance: about finding relief in a monotonous life. For the Chinaski caricature, it was his vices. For Bukowski it was his writing.

Theres no shame in liking him as well as reading the god tier canonicals. Who doesnt like dumb action films or junk food every once in a while?

>>8765447
james franco is a big fan i hear

>>8765447
he's good, and like others in the thread, i feel that he's at his best when he's at his most wretched. i've never seen the beauty in horse races before i read him.

the problem is that it is difficult to separate the fact from fiction with this guy. where does bukowski end and chinaski begin?

>>8767121
>the problem is that it is difficult to separate the fact from fiction with this guy. where does bukowski end and chinaski begin?

The Chinaski character is mostly based on the life of a wino named Red Strange.

I liked Ham On Rye, pretty good coming of age story and you can learn why Bukowski became such an asshole.
Factorum and Post Office were not that compelling everything I remember from them is endless cycle of finding work, drinking into oblivion, being fired and moving to another city.