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 categorise. His work was at times cynical or humorous and 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