Notes of a Dirty Old Man (1969) is a collection of underground newspaper articles written by Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski

Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...

 that were retrieved and published from Essex House in the Open City

Open city

In war, in the event of the imminent capture of a city, the government/military structure of the nation that controls the city will sometimes declare it an open city, thus announcing that they have abandoned all defensive efforts....

 newspapers and into the paperback series Notes of a Dirty Old Man. His short series was written with a crude humor yet truthful approach to different events of his life and how he views them. The series is currently published by City Lights Publishing Company

City Lights Bookstore

City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...

 but can also be found in Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook, which is a collection of all of Bukowski's wide ranging works.

Plot Summary

Bukowski uses his own life as the plot of his series and leaves nothing out. The different stories range from hooking up with a stranger's wife who invited him over for dinner to admire his work, to debating with other authors of the underground newspaper. Bukowski goes through life and each event without caring about what might be the consequence of his actions. He is almost always alone aside from the occasional prostitute that he invites over. A few times, generous people who admire his writings will allow him to stay with them rent free. He does not understand why people enjoy his writings so much. As soon as he starts to get too close to these families or hosts he will leave without notice and go on to find a new place to stay. Bukowski does whatever he wants when he wants without wondering what people might think of him. However he does mention that he does not want readers to feel sorry for him which is why he includes crude comedy along with each story. Every step of his journey he always has some type of alcohol with him that allows him to be as carefree as he is. Whether he is drinking while writing his stories and poetry, or showing up to work and meetings already drunk, every story incorporates his vigorous drinking habits because it is such a large part of his life.

A Dirty Old Man Confesses

Along with the series Notes of a Dirty Old Man, Portions From a Wine-Stained Notebook includes another deep look into Charles Bukowski's life. It is a lengthened version of Notes of a Dirty Old Man that is more of an autobiography about him becoming a writer than a short story. It is called A Dirty Old Man Confesses. In this short autobiography, Notes of a Dirty Old Man is put more into perspective on when it is occurring in Bukowski's life. It is a more personal and serious way for readers and fans to get to know more about the author and how he lived. It begins during his early childhood by explaining the difficult relationship that he had with his father. His father whipped him for the slightest reasons whenever he got the chance. Bukowski became numb from the pain and began isolating himself from everyone around him, even other children at school. Eventually he was able to move out on his own and began entering drinking and gambling contests because he found he was very good at it. He began his cycle of getting kicked out and moving into different homes and hotels (which is elaborated more on in Notes of a Dirty Old Man). His life would go downhill fast until his writing career became slightly successful and then go downhill again; his article was published in Story and other magazines, the underground ground newspaper published his stories, and then eventually by Essex House. In between each success he would get crappy jobs, drink more than usual and bum off of anyone who would let him.

Quotes

• "Can't they see through my skin, can't they see that I am nothing?"
• "I became another drunk, thinking of suicide, sitting in little rooms for days with all the shades down, wondering what was out there and what was wrong with it- not knowing whether to blame it on my father or myself or them."
• "The people walk with such an indifference I begin to hate them, but then again I've never really been fond of anything."

In The novel

Alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

is very prevalent in both of Bukowski's Dirty Old Man pieces. He displays many of the outcomes that most people with alcoholism show as well: self control problems, difficulty in identifying feelings, difficulty in emotional processing, and more depressed and/or anxious. However, Alcoholism is not an issue that Bukowski worries about, it is just a way of life for him that he does not want to change. It is also not viewed as a negative issue for him. Because A Dirty Old Man Confesses was published, and Bukowski's personal life was revealed, it is not unlikely that Bukowski suffered from alcoholism. Of people with alcoholism, 50 to 60 percent are genetically predisposed to the disease. In addition to genetic factors, environmental factors and social influences, especially among family and peers, affect an individual's likelihood of developing alcoholism. Bukowski mentions childhood abuse from his alcoholic father - a factor with a statistically documented link to alcoholism.