Play the Piano

by Charles Bukowski

Book Overview

"The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles."--Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author

"He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels."--Leonard Cohen, songwriter

Play the Piano introduces Charles Bukowski's poetry from the 1970s. He leads a life full of gambling and booze but also finds love. These poems are full of lechery and romance as he struggles to mature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876854374
• ISBN13: 9780876854372
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.8" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Awesome.

I'm going to make this quick. If you like Bukowski, you'd love it. If you've never heard of him... What the phreak is wrong with you? Buy it already.

All my friends are married, every Tom and Dick and....

...Harry, You must be strong if you're to go it alone Here's to the bachelors and the Bowery bums Those who feel that they're the ones That are better off without a wife Cause I like to sleep until the crack of noon Midnight howling at the moon Going out when I want to and I'm coming home when I please Don't have to ask permission, wanna to go out fishing Never have to ask for the key Well I've never been no Valentino But I had a girl who lived in Reno Left me for a trumpet player who didn't get me down He was wanted for assault Though he said it weren't his fault You know the coppers rode him right out of town I've been sleeping until the crack of noon Midnight howling at the moon And I've been Going out when I wanna coming home when I please Don't have to ask permission, wanna to go out fishing Never have to ask for the key Kinda selfish about my privacy Now as long as I can be with me We get along so well I can't believe I love to chew the fat with folks I've been listening to all your dirty jokes I'm so thankful for these friends I do receive I've been sleeping until the crack of noon Midnight howling at the moon And I've been Going out when I wanna coming home when I please Don't have to ask permission, I wanna to go out fishing Never have to ask for the keys, no Yeah, I've got this girl I know, man and I just...she's been married several times. I don't wanna end up like her, I mean she's been married so many times she's got rice marks all over her face. Yeah you know the kind. -I wrote a review for "THE LAST NIGHT OF THE EARTH POEMS" wherein I quoted "THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING" by T. Waits. A buddy of mine said I shoulda put that one here, and I think, of course that woulda been way too obvious. But, maybe he was right. But, to h*ll with that and what's right. I always did know what the right path or choice was, but never took it anyway. It was just too damn hard. Except when it came to Buk. Buk and Waits. Buk and Waits and boxing. But here, you gotta know it's right to snatch this book up right away, because with Buk, you simply can't pick a bad one. Each one is as good, if not better, than the next and this one is no exception. Get it, get it, get it. You will not regret it. Enjoy kiddies. Now I gotta make like a hockey player and get the puck outta here...

A good introduction to Bukowski's poetry

This book is like a 'greatest hits' from the 1970s for Bukowski. Ranging from 1970 to 1979, these poems show him working on familiar themes, but he's getting better at expressing himself. His chaotic life is drawing to a close as he settles into married life in the 1980s. These poems are more focused than his earlier efforts, but also a little looser --- he's able to sum up a mood, a day, or an old friend in half a page of non-rhyming verse. These poems are full of wry humor and romance, a far cry from his reputation for booze and sullen moods. If you haven't read his poetry, try this book. You'll find out what kind of writer Bukowski was. It's sure to inspire you to read more of his great work.

confessions of a first class maniac

This is the first Bukowski book that i read. All you have to do is take a look at both of my books, STONE HOTEL and RUSTY STRING QUARTET to see the obvious influence. Bukowski's importance as an American writer will only grow in the 21st century. The man is already a Hemingway-like figure in Europe;the cultural snobs of academia in America have tried to ignore his work, but that will change. This collection is a grab-bag of previously uncollected poems that Bukowski regularly submitted to small press rags during the late sixties and all the way up til his death. These are from the 70's and there are some great poems here dealing with a number of themes: alienation, lonliness, the emptiness of fame, the awkwardness of love triangles, and on and on. There is more truth and beauty in Bukowski's poems than in 500 yrs of philosophy and ersatz religions. A grand overstatement? Of course, but to heck with it; I am a poet too!

EEECH!

this book should not be tossed aside lightly. it should be thrown with great force.credit to d. parker. then drink some rotgut.then pick on someone at least twice your size.morerotgut. yhen read it again and you will begin to understand. do this for 30 years and you will fully comprehend. hey, anybody can get a job it takes a man to make it without working.