Bukowski

Some consider Charles Bukowski one of the greatest American authors of the the 20th century. In his 30 some odd years of writing he produced somewhere in the range of 100 books, including stories and poetry.

An article from LA Weekly discusses part of the legacy Bukowski left behind: Mostly his writing was about being down and out in and around LA. He also did a great deal of his writing in a little “bungalow” in LA. That same bungalow complex is not up for sale and will probably end up being torn down if not for the efforts of Richard Schave and Lauren Everett. They are working on getting the location recognized as a landmark, the home of Charles Bukowski, maybe even turned into a writers colony in the heart of Hollywood. The current owners have different ideas. They want to see the place purchased and torn down, they figure it is the perfect spot for new condos or a nice fast food restaurant.

Based on this you would question if they knew it was the home of Bukowski… They do, and they have no desire to see it preserved. They claim Bukowski was a Nazi, well maybe not a full fledge Nazi, but at least a Nazi sympathizer. This is all based on an article written by Ben Pleasants which may have been based on faulty information. This LA Weekly article offers no official decision on which side Bukowski fell on, whether he actually was a Nazi sympathizer or just really liked to get people riled up ans sometimes used Nazi rhetoric to do so, though it does seem to favor the idea that Bukowski was not a Nazi.

Having read a couple of his books I don’t see any glaring evidence to say that he was a Nazi or even a Nazi sympathizer, but, what one rights and what one actually believes can greatly differ. Seems like an interesting debate with the owner of the bungalow, in my opinion, going a little over board:

“This man loved Hitler,” she insists, citing Pleasants’ writing. “He may be a great writer — I’m not a critic. But that’s what libraries are for. This is my house, not Bukowski’s. I will never allow the city of Los Angeles to turn it into a monument for this man. My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. I’ll bring the whole Jewish Westside into this debate if I have to. Then what will the city of Los Angeles do?”… As for Bukowski’s own Jewish roots: “He never acknowledged his Jewish side,” Gureyeva argues. “The rumor is that Hitler’s mother was part Jewish. Now we have Bukowski — Hitler number two.”

Seems a bit like an overreaction… Of course if I were in the same situation and fully believed Bukowski was a Nazi I think I would probably be defending the old woman instead of feeling that she is overreacting. It is all a matter of perspective. I think the article ends nicely with a quote from Bukowski “If you let them kill you, they will.”

*Image from Burkhart Studios