Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Bukowski, Charles (Vol. 108) - Robert Peters (essay date 1994)

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Robert Peters (essay date 1994)

SOURCE: "Gab Poetry, or Ducks vs. Nightingale Music: Charles Bukowski," in Where the Bee Sucks: Workers, Drones, and Queens of Contemporary American Poetry, Santa Maria: Asylum Arts, 1994, pp. 56-66.

[In the following essay, Peters discusses the elements of Bukowski's poetry.]

I once witnessed a Charles Bukowski first: the debut of the great raunchy poet as actor. The vehicle, The Tenant, was a two character drama written by Linda King. Bukowski contributed lines of his own, better developing his own image in the play. This line was his addition, as delivered by Miss King: "You may be the greatest poet of the century, but you sure can't fuck." In a lively way The Tenant turns upon the problem of whether a super-poet should move in with his girlfriend, who would then, one would suppose, buy him his beer, give him bj's, and let him abuse her. The event was choice. An actor scheduled to...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Robert Wennersten (interview date December 1974/January 1975)
   2. Glenn Esterly (interview date 17 June 1976)
   3. James Kingstone (review date November 1984)
   4. Loss Glazier (review date Fall 1985)
   5. Julian Smith (review date Fall 1985)
   6. Norman Weinstein (review date Fall 1985)
   7. Stan Theis (essay date Summer 1989)
   8. Joli Funari (review date February 1990)
   9. Gary Dretzka (review date 30 January 1994)
   10. George Stade (review date 5 June 1994)
   11. Elizabeth Young (review date 17 June 1994)
   12. Dick Lochte (review date 30 October 1994)
   13. Russell Harrison (essay date 1994)
   14. Robert Peters (essay date 1994)
   15. Robert Sward (review date March/May 1995)
   16. William Anthony Nericcio (review date Autumn 1995)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright