Charles Bukowski, Undisciplined Satirist

By Johnny Payne

Yes, the man was prolific, having written some 5000 poems and scads of prose. Does that count as virtue, or logorrhea? I find myself wishing he’d have spent more time editing and less generating endless lines. His famous aphorism “Don’t try” too often seems to have been tantamount to “First thought, best thought.” Spontaneity has its advantages. Wordswo…