Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Charles Bukowski Periodical Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1941-2009
Bulk dates: 1972-1994
Collection Number: 602814
Creator:
Bukowski, Charles
Extent:
396 items in 29 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Rare Books Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains nearly 400 issues of 248 periodicals with content written by or about the poet, novelist, and short-story
writer Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), who was known for his crude
and evocative poetry and prose that often described the hard luck, boozing, and womanizing underbelly of life in Los Angeles,
California, in the second half of the 20th century. The items date from 1941 to 2009 and consist of
periodicals ranging from small literary journals to large weekly news magazines that contain poems, short stories, interviews,
excerpts, and drawings by Bukowski, as well as photographs of him, and articles or interviews about him, or in which he is
mentioned.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on August 21, 2013.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, Call number]. Charles Bukowski Periodical Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
This collection was donated by Linda Lee Bukowski beginning in 2006.
Processing information
Processing involved a collection survey, housing of the materials, and the creation of this finding aid.
Biographical Note
Poet, novelist, and short-story writer Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was known for his crude and evocative poetry and prose
that often described the hard luck, boozing, and womanizing underbelly of
life in Los Angeles, California, in the second half of the 20th century.
Charles Henry "'Hank"' Bukowski was born August 16, 1920, in Andernach, Germany, and immigrated with his family to Los Angeles
in 1923. His first published short story, "'Aftermath of a Lengthy
Rejection Slip,"' appeared in Story magazine in 1941, but in his earlier years, he only published sporadically and did not
achieve success until later in life. In the early 1950s, Bukowski began
working for the United States Postal Services and later funneled his experiences into his first novel, Post Office (published
by Black Sparrow Press in 1971). Bukowski began to write full-time in
1969. Often disparaged by critics, Bukowski's writing has achieved a large cult following in the United States, while his
popular and critical acclaim is significantly larger in Europe, especially
in Germany.
Bukowski married twice, first briefly to Barbara Frye in 1957 and to Linda Lee Beighle from 1985 until his death. He had one
daughter, Marina who was born in 1964, with his then girlfriend
Frances Smith, another poet who later took the name FrancEYE. Bukowski died March 9, 1994.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
- Charles Bukowski Printed Material Collection (individually cataloged items from this collection can be retrieved by doing
a
keyword search for "Charles Bukowski Printed Material Collection" in the Huntington Library Online Catalog:
catalog.huntington.org)
Scope and Content
This collection contains periodicals with content written by or about the poet, novelist, and short-story writer Charles Bukowski,
covering a span from 1941 to 2009, and is a subset of the Charles Bukowski Printed Material Collection.
The materials consist of nearly 400 issues of 248 periodicals that contain poems, short stories, interviews, excerpts, and
drawings by Bukowski, as well as photographs of him, and articles or interviews about him, or in which he is mentioned.
The materials span from Bukowski's first published short story "'Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip,"' which was published
in
Story magazine in 1941, to obituaries and articles about Bukowski and posthumously printed poems and short stories that
appeared after his death in 1994. The items range from small literary journals to large weekly news magazines published in
a number of countries and in a variety of languages including English, German, and French.
Approximately 90 periodical titles received with this collection are not included in this finding aid but are instead cataloged
individually; they may be retrieved by doing a keyword search for "Charles Bukowski Printed Material Collection" in
the Huntington Library Online Catalog:
catalog.huntington.org.
The collection inventory below contains entries listing the periodical title, issue number, date, publisher and publisher
location, language (if other than English), the titles, page numbers, and authors of the Bukowski-related pieces, and a short
description of the content.
Arrangement
The periodicals are broadly organized according to general size (Boxes A-H contain smaller issues, Boxes I-U contain medium-sized
issues, and Boxes V-CC contain larger issues); within each grouping,
issues are arranged alphabetically by periodical title and then chronologically.
Indexing Terms
Form/Genres
Journals (periodicals).
Magazines (periodicals).
Periodicals.
Subjects
Bukowski, Charles.
Bukowski, Charles – Poetry.
Bukowski, Charles – Interviews.
Black Sparrow Press.
Authors, American – 20th century.
Authors, American – 20th century – Interviews.
Authors, American – 20th century – Periodicals.
Poets, American – 20th century.
Poets, American – 20th century – Interviews.
Poets, American – 20th century – Periodicals.
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Los Angeles (Calif.).
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Additional Authors
Bukowski, Linda Lee, donor.
Grapes, Jack.
Locklin, Gerald.
McDonough, Tom, 1969-.
Pleasants, Ben, 1940-2013.
Rolfe, Lionel, 1942-.