“We're all going to die, all of us; what a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities. We are eaten up by nothing.”

German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer

Charles Bukowski was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. He became closely associated with Los Angeles, the city he made his home, and his work reflects that setting and its pressures. His writing focuses on the lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the grind of work. He wrote with direct attention to everyday hardship and the conditions that shaped it.