Charles Bukowski is not like anyone. His style is recognizable, his "dirty realism" is fascinating. Almost all of his works are autobiographical, that is, he was not only a talented writer, but also a very interesting, unusual person. A man who has long been a loser, but still managed to achieve recognition
early years
Charles Bukowski was born in Europe - in the German town of Andernach in 1920. His mother was a seamstress by profession, and his father (his name was Henry) was a soldier in the American army. In 1923, due to economic problems in his native country, the family moved to another continent, to the States - first to the town of Baltimore, and then to Los Angeles.
Charles’s relationship with his father did not work out from childhood - he was an adherent of cruel methods of education. When Charles was sixteen, he came home drunk. Father decided to teach him a lesson for this. But the young man this time decided to give back and struck back at his father in the jaw. After this incident, Bukovsky Sr. no longer touched his son at all.
After graduating from school, Charles attended college classes in Los Angeles for some time, but almost immediately became disappointed in his studies. For the next six months, Bukowski worked in various low-paying jobs, and spent his leisure time in bars, pumping himself up with alcohol (he will remain addicted to the green snake for life). Then he left Los Angeles and began to wander around America.
Writing career and author novels
The young writer actively composed poems and short stories until 1945 - several magazines even published his works. But Bukowski realized that he could not make a quick career in the literary world. He returned to his parental home in Los Angeles and gave up writing for a full ten years.
Only in the mid-fifties did he again begin to write poetry and prose. And gradually (thanks to publications in magazines with small print runs) it becomes a prominent figure in the bohemian environment. And in the late sixties, he begins to lead the column "Notes of the old goat" in the Los Angeles edition of "Open City", which further increases its recognition.
In 1971, having retired from the postman post, Bukowski wrote in a short time, twenty days, the novel "Post Office". This novel made Bukowski famous both in the USA and in European countries. After that, Bukowski will write five more novels - Factotum, Women, Ham Bread, Hollywood (this novel tells about the work on the movie Pian, to which Bukowski composed the script) and Waste Paper. About the novel "Waste paper" is also worth mentioning especially: it differs from all others in that it has practically no autobiographical details. In addition, it was published already when Bukovsky died.
