Charles Bukowski

A few weeks ago, the New Yorker ran an article by Adam Kirsch panning the work of the late poet Charles Bukowski. The article compares him to Ayn Rand. Now I'm no fan of Ms. Rand's polical philosophy, but her books are a good read and clearly she was a good writer.

So who is Adam Kirsch? He also is a poet, and I checked out a book of his from the Seattle library. It turns out (at least in the this book) that he writes traditional rhyming poetry. (I was expecting avant garde.) Pretty tedious stuff, about the solstice and changing seasons. Bukowski, whatever his faults, was a real writer. His poems are full of drama and fascinating insights. Which is why he gets a whole shelf at Barnes and Nobles. Surely Bukowski is one of the few poets from the last half of the 20th century who will be remembered. All those English grad students and their tedious theories don't mean much.