THE LUCK OF THE WORD (Excerpt)
Poem by Charles Bukowski
throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books
has helped them
get through,
go on.
this is high praise
indeed
and I know what
they mean;
my nerve to go
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others…
a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence,
livable
for the reader
and
the writer.
***
“The Luck of the Word” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories.
Illustration: “Mr. Chinaski as seen by The Art Warriors” (theartwarriors.com) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — featured in the Silver Birch Press Bukowski Anthology (2013).
Silver Birch Press 