Notes of a Dirty Old Man

"One day after the races, I sat down and wrote the heading Notes of a Dirty Old Man, opened a beer and the writing got done by itself... Just sit by the window, lift the beer and let it come. Anything that wanted to arrive, arrived." This collection of Bukowski's columns for an underground LA newspaper epitomises his style of gritty realism. Writing as himself, or his alter-ego, Henry Chinaski, Bukowski delves into America's lowlife to eulogise life's losers and antiheros. Packed with violence, women, gambling and booze, Bukowski's semi-autobiographical stories veer between hilarity and despair, as he extols the inherent beauty and futility of life. Charles Bukowsji was one of America's best-known and most prolific writers. During his lifetime Bukowski published more than forty-five books of poetry and prose including the novels Post Office (1971), Factotum (1975, Women (1978) and Pulp (1994), all available from Virgin Books.