Poets Reading Poetry: Charles Bukowski

Poetry is meant to be read aloud, but rarely is. As Oscar Wilde once said, "A poet can survive everything but a misprint."

So, cutting out the middle man, here is where we'll post famous poets reading their own poetry--the words off the page and in your ears, as they intended. And hopefully nothing is lost in the process.

Whether justified or not, Bukowski has been labeled offensive, a misogynist, and an overall jerk for his poetry and writings depicting a seedier side of the American populace. But even the town dump needs a voice, and that's where Bukowski comes in.

Written in 1957, at a time before he held much popularity, "Friendly Advice to a Lot of Young Men" is Bukowski's sometimes nonsensical and random association of images that reads like a commencement address which is more worthwhile than any actual commencement address.

His voice sounds gravelly and emotionless, until the pacing quickens and random syllables receive the wrong emphasis--like an amateur mic night poetry workshop in Del Boca Vista.


Friendly Advice to a Lot of Young Men

Go to Tibet
Ride a camel.
Read the bible.
Dye your shoes blue.
Grow a beard.
Circle the world in a paper canoe.
Subscribe to The Saturday Evening Post.
Chew on the left side of your mouth only.
Marry a woman with one leg and shave with a straight razor.
And carve your name in her arm.

Brush your teeth with gasoline.
Sleep all day and climb trees at night.
Be a monk and drink buckshot and beer.
Hold your head under water and play the violin.
Do a belly dance before pink candles.
Kill your dog.
Run for mayor.
Live in a barrel.
Break your head with a hatchet.
Plant tulips in the rain.

But don’t write poetry.



Audio: BrainPickings