Home > Work > Notes of a Dirty Old Man
21 " I talked to Miriam. She says you paint and write, you're an artist""at rare times I'm an artist; at most other times I'm nothing "
― Charles Bukowski , Notes of a Dirty Old Man
22 " every man believes that he can tame a nymph but it only leads to the grave — for the man. "
23 " an intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way. "
24 " That was love, that was bravery. Shit, who could really stand me? anyone who could stand me had a lot of forgiveness of soul. "
25 " Když chce někdo zabít Boha, znamená to, že ho chci zabít i já? "
26 " so we went up the hill. then we got into my room and I looked at them both. my pure and beautiful slim and magic little girl glorious fuck with the hair dangling down to the asshole, and next to her the tragedy of the ages: slime and horror, the machine gone wrong, frogs tortured by little boys and head-on car collisions and the spider taking in the ball-less buzzing fly and the landscape brain of Primo Carnera going down under the dull playboy guns of cocksure Maxie Baer — new heavyweight champ of America — I, I rushed at the Tragedy of the Ages — that fat slob of accumulated shit. "
27 " He, and all of us, are the victims of an attitude that has been growing in our land for nearly a decade - an attitude that says a man can choose the laws he must obey, that he can take the law into his own hands for a cause, that crime does not necessarily mean punishment. "
28 " I get very tired of the precious intellects who must speak diamonds every time they open their mouths. I get tired of battling for each space of air for the mind. that’s why I stayed away from people for so long, and now that I am meeting people, I find that I must return to my cave. there are other things beside the mind: there are insects and palm trees and pepper shakers, and I’ll have a pepper-shaker in my cave, so laugh. "
29 " Beynime bir soluk hava çekebilmek için savaşmaktan bıktım. Yıllarca insanlardan kaçmamın nedeni bu, ve onlarla görüşmeye başladığımdan beri inime dönme zamanının geldiğini hissediyorum. "
30 " the people will always betray you. never trust the people. "
31 " cities are built to kill people, "
32 " I’d rather hear about a live American bum than a dead Greek God. "
33 " TIME WOUNDS ALL HEELS. "
34 " When Love becomes a command, Hatred can become a pleasure. * * *if you don’t gamble, you’ll never win * * *Beautiful thoughts, and beautiful women never last * * *you can cage a tiger but you’re never sure he’s broken. Men are easier * * *if you want to know where God is, ask a drunk. * * *there aren’t any angels in the foxholes * * *no pain means the end of feeling; each of our joys is a bargain with the devil. * * *the difference between Art and Life is that Art is more bearable * * *I’d rather hear about a live American bum than a dead Greek God. * * *there is nothing as boring as the truth * * *The well balanced individual is insane * * *Almost everybody is born a genius and buried an idiot * * *a brave man lacks imagination. Cowardice is usually caused by lack of proper diet. * * *sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing * * *when men rule governments, men won’t need governments; until then we are screwed * * *an intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way. * * *everytime I go to a funeral I feel as if I had eaten puffed wheat germ * * *dripping faucets, farts of passion, flat tires — are all sadder than death. * * *if you want to know who your friends are, get yourself a jail sentence "
35 " you say you often feel this madness. what do you do when it comes upon you? I write poetry. is poetry madness? non-poetry is madness. what is madness? madness is ugliness. what is ugly? to each man, something different. "
36 " if you want to know who your friends are, get yourself a jail sentence "
37 " WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR TYPEWRITER YOU LEAVE YOUR MACHINE GUN AND THE RATS COME POURING THROUGH. "
38 " then I saw a church. I didn't particularly like churches, especially when they were filled with people. but I didn't fugure it to be that way at 9 p.m. I walked up the steps. hey hey, woman, come see what's left of your man. I could sit there a while and breath in the stink, maybe make something out of God, maybe give him a chance. I pulled at the door. the motherfucker was locked. "
39 " then I saw a church. I didn't particularly like churches, especially when they were filled with people. but I didn't figure it out to be that way at 9 p.m. I walked up the steps. hey hey, woman, come see what's left of your man. I could sit there a while and breath in the stink, maybe make something out of God, maybe give him a chance. I pulled at the door. the motherfucker was locked. "
40 " that’s what friendship means: sharing the prejudice of experience. "