The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way: On Writers and Writing

Description

"Genius could be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way, or even to say a simple thing in a simpler way."-Charles Bukowski In The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way, Charles Bukowski considers the art of writing, and the art of living as writer. Bringing together a variety of previously uncollected stories, columns, reviews, introductions, and interviews, this book finds him approaching the dynamics of his chosen profession with cynical aplomb, deflating pretensions and tearing down idols armed with only a typewriter and a bottle of beer. Beginning with the title piece-a serious manifesto disguised as off-handed remarks en route to the racetrack-The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way runs through numerous tales following the author's adventures at poetry readings, parties, film sets, and bars, and also features an unprecedented gathering of Bukowski's singular literary criticism. From classic authors like Hemingway to underground legends like d.a. levy to his own stable of obscure favorites, Bukowski uses each occasion to expound on the larger issues around literary production. The book closes with a handful of interviews in which he discusses his writing practices and his influences, making this a perfect guide to the man behind the myth and the disciplined artist behind the boozing brawler.

Born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, Charles Bukowski published his first short story when he was twenty-four and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. His first book of poetry was published in 1959; he would eventually publish more than forty-five books of poetry and prose. He died of leukemia in San Pedro, California on March 9, 1994. David Stephen Calonne is the author of several books and has edited four previous collections of the uncollected work of Charles Bukowski for City Lights: Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook, Absence of the Hero, More Notes of a Dirty Old Man, and The Bell Tolls for No One.

"Bukowski was writing before the rise of MFA programs in creative writing. He recalls: 'Somebody asked me, "Bukowski, if you taught a course in writing what would you ask them to do?" I answered "I'd send them to the racetrack and force them to bet $5 on each race." This ass thought I was joking.' There was ever a touch of wild-man bravado with Bukowski. But some might judge it a better suggestion than being told to write what you know in a seminar room on a provincial campus."-Times Literary Supplement "This new Bukowski just released by City Lights is a real treat ... From the onset, it reads like typical Bukowski-bawdy and broad, dissecting the world in which we live with piercing insight. ... The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way tells us just what it's like to live in a writer's skin. As such, we're afforded a rare chance to get intimate with Charles Bukowski on a whole new level."-Electric Review