Charles Bukowski poem and story database

Essential Bukowski: Poetry

Published in 2016 by Ecco  (UK version does not include "Love Poem To Marina," "If You Want Justice, Take The Knife," and "Do You Want To Enter The Arena." UK version's cover also has the subtitle, "something for the touts, the nuns, the grocery clerks and you")

Friendly Advice To A Lot Of Young Men, And A Lot Of Old Men Too - pg. 1 - circa 1957
As The Sparrow - pg. 2 - circa 1957
Layover - pg. 3 - circa 1956
The Life Of Borodin - pg. 4 - circa 1958
When Hugo Wolf Went Mad - pg. 6 - circa 1959
Destroying Beauty - pg. 7
The Day I Kicked A Bankroll Out The Window - pg. 8 - circa 1959
The Twins - pg. 11 - circa 1959
To The Whore Who Took My Poems - pg. 13 - circa 1960
The Loser - pg. 14 - circa 1960
The Best Way To Get Famous Is To Run Away - pg. 15 - circa 1961
The Tragedy Of The Leaves - pg. 17 - circa 1960
Old Man, Dead In A Room - pg. 19 - circa 1961
The Priest And The Matador - pg. 21 - circa 1961
The State Of World Affairs From A 3rd Floor Window - pg. 22 - circa 1960
The Swan - pg. 24 - circa 1964
Beans With Garlic - pg. 25 - circa 1963
A Poem Is A City - pg. 26 - circa 1962
Consummation Of Grief - pg. 28 - circa 1962
For Jane: With All The Love I Had, Which Was Not Enough - pg. 29 - 1962
For Jane - pg. 31 - 1962
John Dillinger And Le Chasseur Maudit - pg. 32
Crucifix In A Deathhand - pg. 35 - circa 1965
Something For The Touts, The Nuns, The Grocery Clerks And You - pg. 38 - 1964
No. 6 - pg. 44 - circa 1965
And The Moon And The Stars And The World - pg. 45
True Story - pg. 46 - circa 1966
The Genius Of The Crowd - pg. 48 - 1966
I Met A Genius - pg. 51 - circa 1967
Swastika Star Buttoned To My Ass - pg. 52 - circa 1966
The Blackbirds Are Rough Today - pg. 53
If We Take - pg. 56 - circa 1972
Another Academy - pg. 58 - circa 1970
The Poetry Reading - pg. 60 - circa 1970
The Last Days Of The Suicide Kid - pg. 62
The Shower - pg. 64 - 1971
The Mockingbird - pg. 67 - 1971
Style - pg. 68 - circa 1972
Girl In A Miniskirt Reading The Bible Outside My Window - pg. 69 - circa 1971
The Shoelace - pg. 71 - circa 1971
Those Sons Of Bitches - pg. 75 - circa 1970
Hot - pg. 76 - circa 1973
Trouble With Spain - pg. 79
A Radio With Guts - pg. 81
Love Poem To Marina - pg. 83
Some People Never Go Crazy - pg. 85 - circa 1973
The Fisherman - pg. 86 - circa 1973
The Trash Men - pg. 87
Face Of A Political Candidate On A Street Billboard - pg. 89 - circa 1974
The Proud Thin Dying - pg. 90 - circa 1975
An Almost Made Up Poem - pg. 92
A Love Poem For All The Women I Have Known - pg. 94 - manuscript - 1974
Art - pg. 97
What They Want - pg. 98
One For The Shoeshine Man - pg. 100
The Meek Have Inherited - pg. 104 - 1975
Who In The Hell Is Tom Jones? - pg. 105 - 1975
And A Horse With Greenblue Eyes Walks On The Sun - pg. 107 - 1975
An Acceptance Slip - pg. 109 - 1975
The End Of A Short Affair - pg. 112 - 1976
I Made A Mistake - pg. 115 - 1976
$$$$$$ - pg. 117
Metamorphosis - pg. 122
We've Got To Communicate - pg. 124
The Secret Of My Endurance - pg. 127 - manuscript - 1979
Carson McCullers - pg. 129 - manuscript (differs from Black Sparrow book version) - 1981
Sparks - pg. 130 - 1982
The History Of A Tough Motherfucker - pg. 134 - manuscript (differs from Black Sparrow book version) - 1983
Oh, Yes - pg. 137 - manuscript - 1983
Retirement - pg. 138 - 1984
Luck - pg. 141
If You Want Justice, Take The Knife - pg. 143 - 1985
Cornered - pg. 146
How Is Your Heart? - pg. 148
The Burning Of The Dream - pg. 150 - manuscript - 1986
Hell Is A Lonely Place - pg. 160
The Strongest Of The Strange - pg. 164
8 Count - pg. 168
We Ain't Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain - pg. 169
Flophouse - pg. 181
The Soldier, His Wife And The Bum - pg. 186
No Leaders - pg. 188 - manuscript - circa 1983-1990
Dinosauria, We - pg. 189 - manuscript - 1991
Nirvana - pg. 192
The Bluebird - pg. 196
The Secret - pg. 198 - circa 1991
Fan Letter - pg. 199
To Lean Back Into It - pg. 201
Do You Want To Enter The Arena? - pg. 203 - manuscript - 1992
The Condition Book - pg. 206 - manuscript - 1992
A New War - pg. 207 - manuscript (differs from Black Sparrow book version) - circa 1991-1994 - circa 1993
The Laughing Heart - pg. 209 - circa 1993
Roll The Dice - pg. 210 - manuscript (differs from Black Sparrow book version) - circa 1991-1994
So Now? - pg. 212 - circa 1994
The Crunch - pg. 213 - circa 1977