Quotations from

Charles Bukowski

About

Henry Charles Bukowski ( boo-KOW-skee; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, German: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈkaʁl buˈkɔfski]; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted home city of Los Angeles. Bukowski's work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work.

from Wikipedia

Quotes from Charles Bukowski

Sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing.

—Charles Bukowski

I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.

—Charles Bukowski

He asked, "What makes a man a writer?" "Well," I said, "it's simple. You either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge.

—Charles Bukowski

Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside—remembering all the times you've felt that way.

—Charles Bukowski

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.

—Charles Bukowski

The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.

—Charles Bukowski

An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.

—Charles Bukowski

if it doesn't come bursting out of you / in spite of everything, / don't do it. / unless it comes unasked out of your / heart and your mind and your mouth / and your gut, / don't do it.

—Charles Bukowski

I don't like jail. They got the wrong kind of bars in there.

—Charles Bukowski

You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.

—Charles Bukowski