FRIENDLY ADVICE TO A LOT OF

YOUNG MEN

Charles Bukowski

Go to Tibet.
Ride a camel.
Read the Bible.
Dye your shoes blue.
Grow a Beard.
Circle the world in a paper canoe.
Subscribe to “The Saturday Evening Post.”
Chew on the left side of your mouth only.
Marry a woman with one leg and shave with a straight razor.
And carve your name in her arm.

Brush your teeth with gasoline.

Sleep all day and climb trees at night.
Be a monk and drink buckshot and beer.
Hold your head under water and play the violin.
Do a belly dance before pink candles.
Kill your dog.
Run for Mayor.
Live in a barrel.
Break your head with a hatchet.
Plant tulips in the rain.
But don’t write poetry.

LOOKING AT THE POEM

Tone and Diction

1. Look at the individual words in the poem. Find 5 words that you expected to find in a
poem and find 5 words that you did not expect to find in a poem. Discuss your choices
with a partner.

Words I expected to find Words I didn’t expect to find

2. Each line consists of an imperative sentence. Divide all sentences into two categories:
“Things I could do” and “Things I would never do”. Then share and compare your list
with a partner. Discuss any differences that you find.

Things I could do Things I would never do

3. How does this poem make you feel? What are you thinking after reading the poem?
You can use the word wheel on page 6 to help you formulate your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

4. Look at your answer to question 3. What in the poem has made you feel this way about
the poem?
a. Identify and write down any words or phrases in the poem that helped you form your
opinion.
b. Prepare to share your ideas with a partner.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
LOOKING AT THE POEM
Form and Audience

5. This poem is very different from your average “Sinterklaasgedicht”. What makes this
poem a poem? Or do you think it is not a poem at all? Discuss in a small group and
prepare to share your ideas with the rest of the class.

6. Who form the audience of this poem? Why do you think Bukowski aimed his poem at
them? Write down your ideas and prepare to share with the rest of the class.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

7. You are either part of Bukowski’s target audience, or you aren’t. Pair up so that each
group consists of at least one boy and one girl. Discuss whether or not being part of
Bukowski’s target audience changes your perception of the poem. Why does it? Why
doesn’t it? Write down your findings below.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

8. a. Why is the last line “But don’t write poetry.” separated from the rest of the poem?
b. What does this line say about the attitude of the writer towards poetry? Charles
Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, why do you think he chose this line to end his
poem with?

Discuss within your pair or small group.

I FEEL – WORD WHEEL
WEAR SUNSCREEN
Listening task

9. You are going to watch and listen to the spoken word video “Everybody’s Free to Wear
Sunscreen” by Baz Luhrmann. In this video, the speaker gives his audience a lot of advice
for the future.

a. Listen to the lyrics. Write down words or phrases that stand out to you. Use the space
below to take notes.
b. Look at your notes. For what kind of situation were these lyrics written?
c. After listening (again), discuss with a partner how the lyrics of this video differ from
the Charles Bukowski poem.
d. Which do you like more, the poem or this video? What is the aspect of the poem or
video that makes you say this? Discuss your answer with a partner.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

MORE (FRIENDLY) ADVICE

Writing task
10. Now it is your turn to create a piece of writing in which you give someone advice. You
need to do this in the style of Charles Bukowski’s poem Friendly Advice to a lot of Young
Men. This means your poem has the following requirements:

 The poem has 21 lines.

 Each line contains a positive imperative sentence, except the last line, which contains a
negative imperative sentence.
 Your poem may be addressed to anyone you wish: your friend, your mother, your
teacher, etc.
 Think about the placement of the advice within the poem, what effect does it have if
you move things around?

To write your poem, take the following steps:

1. Decide on your target audience.

2. Make a list of different kinds of advice for your audience.
3. Think about the order in which you write down the advice.
4. Think of a good last line for your poem.
5. Write a first draft of your poem.
6. Show your poem to a classmate or your teacher to get some feedback.
7. Rewrite until you are satisfied with the end result.

Good luck!
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________