"What matters most is how well you walk through the fire"

That is the title of the book that I just bought at Borders by Charles Bukowski. Legend has it that this brilliant author (poet, novelist) was a drunken low life that had the gift of a literary genius.

Just what I imagine great poets to be! People with real life experience and not a sugar-coated MFA from who knows where (no disrespect to all you MFA'ers). 

 

I went to Borders looking for another book of poetry that would give me inspiration to create some of my own poetry as I travel to Oaxaca for the next two weeks. At first I thought the title was just so awesome that I had to pick it up and take a look at it. As I picked up the book for the shelf, I couldn't help but notice that all the books next this one were also written by him. Borders for the most part has a weak poetry section and its only the dead great poets that get more than one of their books on the self.  So I concluded that he must be dead and he must be good.

Turns out, he was one of the best contemporary writers in America. It is a thick volume of poetry, roughly about 300 pages, but his poems are very simple, short and to the point. I love the bluntness of his lingo. Here are some of the titles to give you a picture on what his poetry might or might not be about: 

-my father the bum

-horseshit

-$180 gone

-I want a mermaid

-about a trip to Spain

-computer class

-what do they want?

 and one of my favorite titles:

-last night I fucked my alarm clock

Genuis...you might be thinking, from the titles it look as though a drunk bum on his 2nd 5th of Vodka wrote these poems and your probably right, Bukowski probably did write most of these poems as he was drunk. But just cause a man likes to pull them back every now and then doesn't rob him the title of: poetry guru. 

So I am very excited about the books I plan to read and give me inspiration over the next few weeks while in Mexico. Taking with me, I have:

- Embryoyo by Dean Young

- Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros (this is my comfort book of poems)

- Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

-What matters most is how well you walk through the fire by Charles Bukowski

We'll see what happens...I hope that I can use these great authors to my advantage and learn from their style. If not, I have to be like Mr. Bukowski and become a drunken low-life. I think I'll take option 1...ha!