Forward Summary and Analysis

Charles Bukowski begins his book of short articles and stories by explaining how such pieces came into existence. His employer at Open City newspaper in L.A. was John Bryan, who had been fired from the Herald-Examiner for objecting to the airbrushing of the private parts of the Christ child in an image. A revolutionary, Bryan clearly earned the respect of Bukowski as he himself was a revolutionary thinker. When Bryan asked Bukowski to write a column for the newspaper, he agreed. One evening, Bukowski sat down with a beer after the horse races, and began drinking while writing, allowing the words to flow freely, without filters. The result, he explains, were the articles he published, and the pieces contained within the book. In the end, he states he hopes the book helps some, and that he does not particularly care...