To his legions of fans, Charles Bukowski was—and
remains—the quintessential counterculture icon. A
hard-drinking wild man of literature and a stubborn outsider
to the poetry world, he wrote unflinchingly about booze,
work, and women, in raw, street-tough poems whose truth has
struck a chord with generations of readers.
Edited
by John Martin, the legendary publisher of Black Sparrow
Press and a close friend of Bukowski's, The Pleasures of
the Damned is a selection of the best works from
Bukowski's long poetic career, including the last of his
never-before-collected poems. Celebrating the full range of
the poet's extraordinary and surprising sensibility, and his
uncompromising linguistic brilliance, these poems cover a
rich lifetime of experiences and speak to Bukowski's
?immense intelligence, the caring heart that saw through the
sham of our pretenses and had pity on our human condition?
(New York Quarterly). The Pleasures of the
Damned is an astonishing poetic treasure trove,
essential reading for both longtime fans and those just
discovering this unique and legendary American voice.