A Review: On Writing

Title of Work: On Writing
Author: Charles Bukowski
Format:
Published: 2014
Started:
Finished: 2023-03-12\

Posted: Goodreads
Rating: 3/5

---

I found this correspondence collection interesting from two angles: the first, biographical insight into the work of a controversial and prolific writer and the second, as a source of artistic inspiration and encouragement. Finally, it is a selected subset from 50 years of letters and probably only worth reading if you’re interested in Bukowski the man or his take on the craft of writing more generally.

Bukowski, for all his self-importance and misanthropy, toiled for years at the type writer with little praise or reward. He described the compulsion to write as a disease but found comfort and purpose in his affliction. Whether his late recognition was because he was a misunderstood genius whose art the world was not prepared to receive yet (what he would have you believe) or just a mostly lousy writer is a discernment left as exercise for more capable reviewers.

I didn’t love the novel Post Office but look forward to reading some of his collected poetry and I might give Ham on Rye a go too. It seems the poem is where he shines.