On Writing

Sharp and moving reflections and ruminations on the artistry and craft of writing from one of our most iconoclastic, riveting, and celebrated masters.

Charles Bukowski’s stories, poems, and novels have left an enduring mark on our culture. In this collection of correspondence—letters to publishers, editors, friends, and fellow writers—the writer shares his insights on the art of creation.

On Writing reveals an artist brutally frank about the drudgery of work and canny and uncompromising about the absurdities of life—and of art. It illuminates the hard-edged, complex humanity of a true American legend and counterculture icon—the “laureate of American lowlife” (Time)—who stoically recorded society’s downtrodden and depraved. It exposes an artist grounded in the visceral, whose work reverberates with his central ideal: “Don't try.”

Piercing, poignant, and often hilarious, On Writing is filled not only with memorable lines but also with Bukowski’s trademark toughness, leavened with moments of grace, pathos, and intimacy.

More than a manual on craft, this is a survival guide for the creative soul—

• The Art of Rejection: See Bukowski’s unfiltered reactions to editors who didn’t understand his work, and the stubborn persistence that defined his career.
• Unflinching Advice for Writers: Discover the raw, hilarious, and brutally honest insights on the craft of writing he shared with friends and fellow artists.
• A Counterculture Icon’s Manifesto: Go behind the myth of the "laureate of American lowlife" to find a man uncompromising about the absurdities of art and existence.
• The "Don’t Try" Philosophy: Explore the central ideal of a writer grounded in the visceral, who found grace and pathos in society’s downtrodden.