Yes?โ he asked, looking at me over the sheet. โIโm a writer temporarily down on my inspirations.โ โOh, a writer, eh?โ โYes.โ โAre you sure?โ โNo, Iโm not.โ โWhat do you write?โ โShort stories mostly. And Iโm halfway through a novel.โ โA novel, eh?โ โYes.โ โWhatโs the name of it?โ โโThe Leaky Faucet of My Doom.โโ โOh, I like that. Whatโs it about?โ โEverything.โ โEverything? You mean, for instance, itโs about cancer?โ โYes.โ โHow about my wife?โ โSheโs in there too.
Charles BukowskiIntellectuals say simple things in difficult ways. Artists say difficult things in simple ways.
Charles BukowskiDrinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same.
Charles BukowskiI should think that many of our poets, the honest ones, will confess to having no manifesto. It is a painful confession but the art of poetry carries its own powers without having to break them down into critical listings. I do not mean that poetry should be raffish and irresponsible clown tossing off words into the void. But the very feeling of a good poem carries its own reason for being... Art is its own excuse, and itโs either Art or itโs something else. Itโs either a poem or a piece of cheese.
Charles Bukowski