Charles Bukowski was once dubbed the poet laureate of American lowlife for his raw and uncompromising portrayals of the lives of people the world had not been kind to.

He wrote about the mindnumbing drudgery of work, the fleeting pleasures of love, sleazy bars and the fickle highs of wins at the track in hundreds of short stories and poems. For years, noone was interested, but eventually his dark humour and refreshing honesty won a devoted audience for his writing and his rowdy public readings.

He is a controversial author, who brought all of his experiences, good and bad, into his work, and in this biographical documentary Prof Graeme Yorston explores his fascinating life story and unpicks his fictional alter ego Henry Chinaski from the real life Charles Bukowski.

Finding Out More
If you want to find out more about Bukowski, there are two great biographies: Bukowski, A Life: The Centennial Edition by his friend and fellow poet Neeli Cherkovski and Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life by investigative journalist Howard Sounes. I have listed these on my Amazon Store Page. https://www.amazon.com/shop/professor...

Academic References
Achami, C. (2021). The Politics of Gender Representation in Charles Bukowski’s Poetry: Between Ambivalence and Misogyny. Journal of Gender, Culture and Society, 1(1), 3344.

Edwards, G., and Gross, M. M. (1976). Alcohol dependence: provisional description of a clinical syndrome. British Medical Journal, 1(6017), 1058.

Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Nonattribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.

Images
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Collection
Internet Archive

Music
Gustav Holst The Planets, op. 32 Mars, the bringer of war. Skidmore College Orchestra. CC0 via Musopen.
Beethoven String Quartet No. 6 CC0 via Musopen.
Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Skidmore College Orchestra CC0
Mozart String Quartet No. 15 In C Major "Les Dissonances" K465. Quatuor Mosaïques CC0
Camille SaintSaëns Danse macabre. Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Colonne, Louis Fourestier (conductor). Public Domain
Camille SaintSaëns Rondo capriccioso. Musicians: Elias Goldstein with the Depaul Symphony Orchestra. CC2.0
George Handel Suite No 1. No 2. Public domain
Gabriel Faure Flute Fantasie. Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano)
Mahler Symphony No 5 Peabody Symphony CC0
Haydn Symphony No.104 in D major, Hob.I104 II. Andante The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra CC3.0
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Skidmore Symphony CC0

Video edited by Manavi Sakunika and produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston