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Back Screams From the Balcony Save as PDF
Chapters (26)
  1. Cover
  2. CHARLES BUKOWSKI
  3. SCREAMS FROM THE BALCONY
  4. EDITED BYSEAMUS COONEY
  5. Contents
  6. EDITOR’S NOTE
  7. • 1958 •
  8. • 1959 •
  9. • 1960 •
  10. • 1961 •
  11. • 1962 •
  12. • 1963 •
  13. • 1964 •
  14. • 1965 •
  15. • 1966 •
  16. • 1967 •
  17. • 1968 •
  18. • 1969 •
  19. AFTERWORD
  20. SEARCHABLE TERMS
  21. Acknowledgments
  22. About the Author
  23. BY CHARLES BUKOWSKIAVAILABLE FROM ECCO
  24. Copyright
  25. About the Publisher
  26. About the Publisher

Ben Tibbs, a printer, a poet and artist who published alongside Bukowski in many little magazines, lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He did the cover art for Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail.

[To Ben Tibbs]

June 8, 1961

Sorry I can only ship one copy but I am down to the end of mine. Other people have written me that Griffith does not respond either to money or written request. I have attempted to send copies to all those who asked for them but Griffith only sent me a limited number. What has gone wrong up in Eureka I really don’t know.

Thank you for doing the Art work on Flower, Fist. I think you caught the spirit of the poems and the title quite well.

• 1962 •

Carl Larsen published Bukowski’s third book, Longshot Poems for Broke Players, at his 7 Poets Press in New York early in 1962.

[To Ben Tibbs]

[early 1962]

I had meant to ask you not to send dollar; certainly this is one hell of a price to pay to see the fine cover you did for Griffith. But instead of sending the dollar back, I am going to suffer you with a copy of Longshot Poems for Broke Players. Am sending the buck on to Larsen for this purpose, but am having the beers anyhow. Many thanks for your graciousness and understanding.

Neeli Cherkovsky, then known as Neeli Cherry, recounts an incident of Bukowski’s reacting to Cherry’s writing a poem about him by throwing the MS in the fire. Cherry retrieved it, Bukowski praised it, but added “I hope you don’t devote a career to writing about me” (Hank). Cherry published the poem in his magazine, Black Cat Review, no. 1, June 1962.

[To Neeli Cherry]

Sunday [early 1962]

without too much reverence

Thank you for the poem. Are you going to devote a career writing about me? Better chose yr subjects more carefully.

Your poetic style is good. I mean that it is loose enough to allow truth to enter or anything you want to say enter

without worry about preconceptions

or the poetic line

which thoughts

choke up most of them

before they begin

I mean, before they begin

they have ended.

they are done.

a good style is important. style is what makes you different from the run. it lets yr voice be heard. Some good men have learned this.

to wit: Shakespeare, Hem, Sherwood Anderson, D. H. Lawrence, Gertie Stein, Faulkner, Picasso, Van Gogh, Stravinsky.