Bukowski for Beginners

Charles Bukowski, novelist, short-story writer, poet, journalist, and cult figure of the dissident and rebellious was born in Germany in 1920 and died in the USA in 1994. During his life he was hailed as "laureate of American lowlife" by Time Magazine, and literary critic Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote: "the secret of Bukowski's appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet's promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero". Bukowski was one of the most unconventional writers and cultural critics of the twentieth century.

He lived an unorthodox, idiosyncratic life and wrote in a style that was unique-a style that is impossible to classify or categorize.

His work was at times cynical or humorous, but was always brilliant and challenging.

His life and work are distinguished not only by a remarkable talent for words, but also by his rejection of the dominant social and cultural values of American society. Bukowski began writing at the age of 40 and published 45 books, six of them novels.

Along with Raymond Chandler, he could be considered one of the great voices of Los Angeles.

In Bukowski For Beginners, playwright Carlos Polimeni evaluates the life and literary achievements of the cult writer whose voice of dissidence an discontent is still heard and appreciated by readers worldwide.