Depiction of American Low life in the poetry of Bukowski

Henry Charles Bukowski was a German born, American poet, novelist and short story writer. His
writings were usually influenced by the social, culture and economic ambience of his home city,
Los Angeles. He has specifically emphasized on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of
writing, alcohol, relationships with women and the drudgery of work. In 1986, Time called
Bukowski a laureate of American lowlife because of his literary work.
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame is one of the poetry collections which hold his views
about life. It has poems full of gambling, drinking and women. Charles Bukowski writes
realistically about the seedy underbelly of life of the low Americans. He explores his themes of
death and suicide, womanizing, gambling and finding meaning and redemption in life through art
and poetry. Another book named as The Last Night of the Earth Poems has poems which deal
with writing, death and immortality, literature, city life, illness, war and the past. Septuagenarian
Stew is a combination of poetry and stories written by Charles Bukowski that delve into the lives
of different people on the backstreets of Los Angeles. His work deals not only with a serious
tone but he has also written hilarious poetry and stories. One such book of this combination is
Betting on the Muse where he writes about the real life of a working man and all that comes with
it. The Continual Condition is a collection of poems by the inimitable Bukowski- raw, tough,
odes to alcohol, women, work and despair by a rebel author equally adept at poetry. These are
some of the major poetry collections which throw light on his views regarding the people of
America and their life.
Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose. I
propose to study the poems written by him which show his concern for the American peoples
life and projection of the society. He talks about some issues which the weaker section of the
American society reckons with, plight of women is also analysed in many of his poems.