Love is a Dog From Hell

I would not consider this “very good” condition. The cover was stained and slightly sticky. It’s icky, but all the pages are there. I would have said “fair” condition because binding was good. Meh...disappointed in condition- happy to have book.

The book I bought had the description of "clean pages" but when I got it I saw a huge stain on the cover that transferred onto about the first ten pages of the book. I'm not too upset but I feel that should have been mentioned.

I bought this book for two reasons, first the title (both funny and true) and second the content. Giggling in the bookshop I decided this book contained truly inspired works about the trials and tribulations of love and relationships. The content proved true to my first impressions...endless works about Bukowski's endless women. I must admit, however, that halfway through I was bored with the content, the sameness in his descriptions of encounters with the women, the feeling that I was feeling uneasy about his lifestyle and attitude towards women. I will say this is a great book to keep in any Bukowski collection, but is nowhere near his best works. Try other, more inspired works, such as "Play the Piano Drunk..." for a better idea of Bukowski's talent and potential.

i am a bukowski fan. all these people crying about the poems don't get dark humor, or haven't followed his asent into hell within his own mind. being a person who's gone through whores, heartbreak, drug abuse, and alcoholism, he portrays the emotion of such a person perfectly.

whenever i feel down about my past, i read a few of his poems, and it makes me realize "this is life, its never going to be as good as you want it to be, you just got to make the best of it.''

he is straight forward with no sugar coating. if you don't like it you can fcuk yourself with a rusty knife... then try writing some poems... you might be as good as him one day.

Bukowski raises the question of whether a Poet should or should not also be judged by certain ethical standards. I believe they should be and that is why he is not in the list of the poets I truly most admire.
He is a tremendously interesting and original writer. His writing has a brutal honesty and toughness which makes the occasional bit of tenderness in it even more meaningful. He writes as a down- and- outer about the dregs and celebrates the dregs. He has a great feeling for people , all kinds of people. One of the distinctive elements of his poems is that they are often small stories, condensed narratives which have odd emotional twists.
He also writes about the subjects which most interest people, Sex , Love, Money, and for a poet, Poetry and Writing. He writes in his own totally unconventional way, and a poem often seems a couple of sentences broken down into single words in a column. I believe the formal objections to this are not relevant, because the poems express powerful feelings in language that is often surprising and metaphorically jolting.
He works on shocking and the question is whether one can be shocked time after time. My own sense is that while the shock effect may wear off, and his whole attitude become tedious he retains the power within the individual poem to startle and awaken.
He is an enormously popular poet and one aspect of this is his informing us the low- life world in a way which affirms that world. He has in short an attitude of his own which is democratic to the first degree. And this despite his occasional expression of ugly Fascist sympathy.
What demotes him is again the cruelty, the anger, the vulgarity for vulgarity's sake, the over- simplistic cursing hatred. But again that anger and hatred too make him attractive to those who are resentful, angry , frustrated. For this attacking of the 'idols of the society' he is also enjoyed greatly by his many reader- fans.

I've owned/read almost every Bukowski book available and I put this one is my top 3. For those who are looking for poetry and verse (see 1 star reviews) you're either not familiar with his work, or went in reading it with a closed mind. This one captures the pureness of his drunken, love hating rambles. Many of the poems are broken hearted scratchings, written while he was working or at bars. And as with all his work, he never cared what you thought about it. Take it for what it is, Bukowski as Bukowski. He was never out to make friends or be nice to women, but he (like most humans) still wanted to feel passion and emotion. Yes, you don't have to like the guy, but I think you'll like this book. I suggest reading 10-15 poems from this, then 10 or so from "Most Beautiful Woman in Town" and you'll really get a sense of the bipolar angst and bitterness he was truly known for. And that being said, try to imagine his soft, effeminate voice reading the lines in a wine induced slur.

Love is a Dog From Hell captures Bukowski's considerable talent for capturing a mood and throwing the reader into his world. This is an excellent edition of modern poetry that perfectly captures the degenerated angst of the period. What is particularly striking here is Bukowski's acute awareness of the decay that surrounds him. I thought 'The Worst and the Best' was a strong example:

in the hospitals and jails
it's the worst
in madhouses
it's the worst
in penthouses
it's the worst
in skid row flophouses
it's the worst
at poetry readings
at rock concerts
at benefits for the disabled
it's the worst
at funerals
at weddings
it's the worst
at parades
at skating rings
at sexual orgies
it's the worst
at midnight
at 3 a.m.
at 5:45 p.m.
it's the worst

falling through the sky
firing squads
that's the best" (119)

Read Bukowski and fall into his humorous and dark verse.

already have the paperback and wanted to have this one on my kindle but the formatting is terrible. the poems appear indented to the middle of the page so if you want bigger fonts then they break most of the lines. Not easy to read. I'll get use to smaller fonts, but this is really not enjoyable and for a big publisher they could invest some more time on a decent kindle edition.

the same happens with the kindle editions of What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire,The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses, but not in Betting on the Muse (maybe because it also has some short stories on it).

But anyway buy Bukowskis as many as you can, he's one the best authors of the 20th century.

So many writers have mired themselves in a cloud of smoke, sex and booze to try and find some oasis of writing clarity or purety of the human experience. Some have been succesful - many have not. The image of the weathered writer smoking, hunched over his typewriter is as old as anything. It is hard to not be cliche when you attack writing-and life-from this angle. "Love is A Dog..." has a refreshing clarity through the haze of smoke and self-loathing that surrounds a good deal of Bukowski's work. He has such a gift for creating and conveying images that at times, the quality of his prose may wane - but his poetry soars. Using less words for more impact, as well as the brevity and abruptness of some poems only serve to make them hit home harder. Notable mentions: "One for the Shoeshine Man," "How to Be A Great Writer" and "Cold Plums." This is a certain brand of poetry which I'm sure won't be liked by all - but damned worth giving a chance.

One of the most renowned poets of the 20th Century came not from the Academia but rather from the dive bars in Los Angeles. Charles Bukowski began to unleash his gutteral cry in the mid-50's. By the time he died of Leukemia in 1994, he was approaching legend status.
Bukowski was the king of skid row poets. He was a drunk living in flophouses, working in factories, fighting, cursing etc. He wrote in a raw, hard hitting style. There is no effort to hide the warts and blemishes here. He wrote in a savagely frank manner on his life and the society that revolved around him.
He eventually became famous enough to befriend Hollywood types like Sean Penn. He wrote a screenplay called "Barfly" which starred Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. It was partially autobiographical.
Bukowski produced many thick volumes of poetry for the Black Sparrow Press. One of my favorites is "Love Is A Dog From Hell". This includes poems that were written from 1974 through 1977. It fills up over 300 pages. Bukowski was a prolific poet in spite his personal problems with booze and gambling.
His poetry will not be for everyone. He is dirty, crude and has an almost absolute reliance on free verse. He is pretty graphic when it comes to sex and booze. . Poem titles include "sex pot", "moaning and groaning", "The Six Foot Goddess", "problems about the other woman", etc. Several poem titles wouldn't even make it past the epinions filter.
Bukowski goes straight for the jugular. This is not poetry for the meek at heart. He is, however, very funny and very direct. Some of the poems will resonate with near brilliance. Bukowski did have the ability to cut some very clean lines. At times, he can be deceptively clever. There is even rare poignancy. "One for old snaggletooth" is a mean title but pays tribute to his ex-wife: "she has hurt fewer people/than anyone I know,/and if you look at it like that,/well,/she has created a better world/she has won."
A poem like "quiet clean girls in gingham dresses" expresses a longing for a more settled life. He only knows prostitutes, pill poppers and neurotic women but he holds out hope for finding someone better. It concludes: "I know she exists/but where is she on this earth/as the wh***s keep finding me?"
Toilets, hookers, race tracks and roaches exist in this world, newspapers are blankets and mice eat moldy bread on the table, fist fights occur in alleys outside bars. It is not for everyone but adventurous readers who want direct, raw emotional intensity may greatly enjoy this verse. Two other quick the store picks are the collected poems of Mark Strand and The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Charles Bukowski wrote prolifically, and was first published in 1944 at age 24. He was born in Germany and brought to America at age two. At least forty-five of his poetry books and prose were published. Many have been published in a dozen languages. His appeal has spread like oil on water.
Bukowski's poems are a vivid study in black and white, with little room for grey areas of imagination. Bluntness was his forte. He wrote of women,brawls,drunks,barflys, booze, pills, sex, pianos,beds, toilets, and anything, or everything, that captured his attention. Using gutsy, ballsy, voices of old familiar bleakness, he wove acts of contrition into a montage of sometimes plain, sometimes grotesque fantasies. Beauty as silent observation was often one of his tools.
The theme of alcoholism and restless wandering became oddly shaped hollow music for those who were his followers. These scores will last well beyond his lifetime though laced with self-lacerating humor. Bukowski noticed, and appreciated women, from the little girls, to a girl on the bus stop bench, the girls at the green hotel, to the girl walking past the graveyard, and the gloomy lady poet, past her prime, drinking wine, no longer beautiful, alone and damned.
Later in life, he muses, wondering where the women went. They came, they listened, they witnessed his pain, then, they left. And, as before, he stood, staring outward, dressed in an undershirt, belligerent, nonchalant, daring the world to deny, a world of debauchery, or, his existence.

Charles Bukowski wrote prolifically, and was first published in 1944 at age 24. He was born in Germany and brought to America at age two. At least forty-five of his poetry books and prose were published. Many have been published in a dozen languages. His appeal has spread like oil on water.
Bukowski's poems are a vivid study in black and white, with little room for grey areas of imagination. Bluntness was his forte. He wrote of women,brawls,drunks,barflys, booze, pills, sex, pianos,beds, toilets, and anything, or everything, that captured his attention. Using gutsy, ballsy, voices of old familiar bleakness, he wove acts of contrition into a montage of sometimes plain, sometimes grotesque fantasies. Beauty as silent observation was often one of his tools.
The theme of alcoholism and restless wandering became oddly shaped hollow music for those who were his followers. These scores will last well beyond his lifetime though laced with self-lacerating humor. Bukowski noticed, and appreciated women, from the little girls, to a girl on the bus stop bench, the girls at the green hotel, to the girl walking past the graveyard, and the gloomy lady poet, past her prime, drinking wine, no longer beautiful, alone and damned.
Later in life, he muses, wondering where the women went. They came, they listened, they witnessed his pain, then, they left. And, as before, he stood, staring outward, dressed in an undershirt, belligerent, nonchalant, daring the world to deny, a world of debauchery, or, his existence.

I bought this book for two reasons, first the title (both funny and true) and second the content. Giggling in the bookshop I decided this book contained truly inspired works about the trials and tribulations of love and relationships. The content proved true to my first impressions...endless works about Bukowski's endless women. I must admit, however, that halfway through I was bored with the content, the sameness in his descriptions of encounters with the women, the feeling that I was feeling uneasy about his lifestyle and attitude towards women. I will say this is a great book to keep in any Bukowski collection, but is nowhere near his best works. Try other, more inspired works, such as "Play the Piano Drunk..." for a better idea of Bukowski's talent and potential.

I have the paperback, and nearly half the corners of the pages are folded down because I read them once a month. Like all volumes of poetry, there are good ones and mediocre ones, but overall it's honest, painful, and beautiful. Rather than drone on, I'll give you a sample, from one of my favorites of this volume:
alone with everybody
the flesh covers the bone_ and they put a mind_ in there and_ sometimes a soul,_ and the women break_ vases against the walls_ and the men drink too_ much_ and nobody ever finds the_ one_ but they keep_ looking_ crawling in and out_ of beds._ flesh covers_ the bone and the_ flesh searches_ for more than_ flesh._
there's no chance_ at all:_ we are all trapped_ by a singular_ fate._
nobody ever finds_ the one._
the city dumps fill_ the junkyards fill_ the madhouses fill_ the hospitals fill_ the graveyards fill_ nothing else_ fills.
P.S. "How to be a great writer" is honest, and hilarious, if it weren't for the language, I'd have left that one to convince you to buy this.

i am a bukowski fan. all these people crying about the poems don't get dark humor, or haven't followed his asent into hell within his own mind. being a person who's gone through whores, heartbreak, drug abuse, and alcoholism, he portrays the emotion of such a person perfectly.

whenever i feel down about my past, i read a few of his poems, and it makes me realize "this is life, its never going to be as good as you want it to be, you just got to make the best of it.''

he is straight forward with no sugar coating. if you don't like it you can fcuk yourself with a rusty knife... then try writing some poems... you might be as good as him one day.

Bukowski has so many books of poetry that it almost staggers the imagination; if one were to rank them in over-all quality, i would have to say this is in his top five. But with Bukowski that is really leaving out a lot of books; he has over forty just of poetry alone! But getting back to the book at hand, this is definitely one of his best. Written as his early to mid 70's underground cult hero/legend status was firmly rising to a peak, this collection shows him to be as much the sensitive sufferer in the battlegrounds of love as anyone, despite his persistently negative reception among critics as nothing more than a drunken, vulgar boor. AS good an introduction to his work as any.

I was first introduced to Bukowski through his poem "Beer" in a Berlin pub of all places. The poem itself is fairly representative of most of his work in this collection - a lifestyle of debauchery and womanizing. A brilliant poet with a wonderful way with words, Bukowski is also a tragi-comic figure due to his alcoholism. The poems are haunting and sad, as the torment Bukowski suffered is painfully apparent. Ironically, his poetry is also beautiful if not downright moving.

This book may show Bukowski at his most sensationalistic, but it hardly contains his best writing. The booze, women, and poverty may be there, but the imagination is almost wholly absent. Many poems seem more like afterthoughts or random musings than truly completed works. There are a handful of great offerings here ("Alone with Everybody," "Prayer in Bad Weather," "One for the Shoeshine Man"), but much stronger poems in the same vein are found in the author's Mockingbird Wish Me Luck and Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame. Some of his best work is in the novel, Ham On Rye. Those who want to know just how compelling Bukowski can be should invest in those books.

I fancy myself a poet and have been reading poetry since I was thirteen years old....I always heard of Bukowski but never gotten around to him till I was about 26...two years ago....and this is the book I bought and I cant lie when I say that I laughed out loud the first time I started reading this HUGE book of poems......Bukowski really is shocking, perverted and all that but in a good way, I just love how they say how much he influenced poetry because its just so funny how something so twisted could cause such an influence.....I highly recommend this if you're looking for a great book of Poems......if you would rather be tried by Bukowskis short stories, I would go buy "Note of a Dirty Old Man" right away.......that book will shock anyone, it reminded me of HST on a bad PCP trip, again, in a good way....Love is a Dog From Hell is an essential Bukowski title and one not to be missed......

There is no craft here, they say. The poetry flows from Bukowski's hand with such ease that it's akin to that thing they said about Kerouac: "it's just typing." And it's half true, both in Kerouac and Bukowski there's a beautiful measure of rawness and learnedness. Erudition? Bah! We want nothing to do with it, after Hank dispells the greats, and works through them like he does preteen mexican girls. Every poem is accessible, like a Pinsky or Collins, but it goes further because it pushes us to consider ourselves, more than a stroll through Central Park and a statue, but ourselves dirty and drunk with blood on our hands, f***ing that same statue.

To read more reviews check out Void Magazine's website.

Reeling from an unhappy love affair, I picked up a copy of this book after wandering the aisles of a book store one day in the mid-eighties. I guess the title spoke to my situation, but what I found inside was more than enough to sustain me... that is, until the next pair of legs walked by. Since then, I've nurtured a love for almost everything the man has written. Bukowski tells it straight, for better or worse, and often we see the writer himself in the cross-hairs more than anyone else.

These poems are the most edgy, raw and unpolished bits of writing I've ever grimaced at. Bukowski's imagery turns my stomach and makes me want to look away from the page. But at the same time there is this current of satisfaction running throughout the book that I could not stop from falling in love with. This was my first Buk book, and I plan to read much, much more.

As the author of current mystery novel that features a Southern California private eye who is also a small-press poet, I am a great admirer of Charles Bukowski and his work. LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL is my favorite Bukowski collection, and it provides the reader with a comprehensive selection of this great contemporary poet's work. Bukowski's work has had a strong influence on my own poetry as well as on the poetry of my fictional private cop. Upon his death, I wrote tribute poem honoring this admirable writer, and it quickly found publication. I would recommend LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL to any reader who wants to become familiar with Charles Bukowski's life's work.

So often people read bukowski and only see the excesses of his lifestyle. I read of celebreties mentioning him and they just don't seem to get it. This is one of the most beautiful and brutal books of poetry you could ever read. Enjoy the honesty. Enjoy the lack of pretense.

Bukowski's poems can have the effect of a tornado over any human conscience. These poems are nothing but a wake-up call that will turn your thoughts to the true reality of the human being existence: solitude, despair, fear of death etc.

You will find in this amazing book, beyond the pride, the drunkeness and the huge parade of women, the authenthic, horrific feelings of the ordinary postmodernist man of the 21st century, alienated, psychotic and continuously stripped of his humanity.

Charles Bukowski is a member of a group of twentieth century poet/writers (the others being Ginsberg, Burroughs, Merton, Reznikoff and Kerouac) who I like to call "the soon to be forgotten giants." Here we sit, only a year and a half since the year on the calendar started with a 19, and these guys are starting to fade. They still sell well enough (Kerouac's novels always will and Merton's non-poetry will always have a niche market among Christians), but with the exception of Reznikoff's brief appearance in one of The Library of America's volumes of twentieth century American Poetry, you can't find these guys in an anthology to save your life.
I say all this to point out that in his time, Bukowski was a master...In my opinion, "Love is a Dog From Hell" is his best volume of poetry. It is proof that he was a massive talent who, when compared with a lot of the drivel that sells, comes off looking like a veritable Giant (though a quite depraved one). In fact, as a teenager, he was my favorite poet. Yet now that I am a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and from a theological point of view a new creature, I have to say that I am saddened to reflect on how a writer of the immense talent of Bukowski wasted what he was given.
All of this aside, Bukowski did not leave me with nothing for having read him. Once, I looked at Bukowski as a master in his field...I used to wish I would someday be able to write as well as he did. In his work he expresses a great deal of forthrightness. This quality, which I picked up from reading Bukowski, was instrumental in my spiritual journey. So thanks in part to the unwitting aid of Bukowski I now have a new master--not merely a poet, but the author of all poets..."And my tongue shall declare His righteousness And His praise all day long" (Psalm 35:28).
While the poems contained within this volume can be quite striking and darkly humorous, I must say that reading it is very similar to eating all frosting and no cake. Bukowski doesn't know love from a hole in the ground.
In the end, I cannot give "Love is a Dog From Hell" my recommendation. Neither can I give it or its author condemnation...but for the grace of God, there go I.

one day she just
fell down
inside of her sexual organs
and vanished.
it was like an alarm clock
dropping into the
Grand Canyon.
it banged and rattled and
rang and rang
but I could no longer
see or hear it.

No matter how sober or drunk, not many authors are able to come up with such simplicity and depth.
So before we accuse Bukowski of being a "low-lifer, womanizer, and alcoholic,"
let's realize first he nothing but mirrors a soulless reality around him.
He'd have been a spotless mirror of Andernach, had he grown up there instead...