Nice one, Bucky, and great info about Fante's twilight years. I once did an SF Weekly column about book shoplifting, and called a number of bookstores to ask the most-stolen author, which was Bukowski, hands down across the board, as you write here. I then called Black Sparrow Press in Santa Rosa to ask John what Bukowski might think of this, and he replied that Buk would have HATED to learn that.
When Black Sparrow published a book by Edward Field, Field said he was told by Martin to write more poems because the book was too short, something he had never been told before.
I got turned on to Black Sparrow Press in my homeless street teens hanging out at Baroque Books off of Hollywood Blvd, Red Stoldosky curated the books & was friends with John & Barbara, he even influenced the whole Fante arrangement & was, of course, a champion of Buk, but also Wanda Coleman, he had a long friendship with Henry Miller & I drove him up to Big Sur to see a memorial commemoration at the Henry Miller Library, which Red gave me a box of books for my trouble, several of them were signed Bukowski first prints from Black Sparrow, which I ended selling gradually to those 2 bookstores that used to be on 16th between Dolores & Valencia for smack around the time I met you, got an average of 100 bucks a book back then, it kept me ‘well’ when my hustle was flat, but the regrets will haunt me every once in a while…back in 2013 I got to go to Sonoma County & see the printing studio Graham McIntosh worked out of, where he & Barbara would work out designs & where he created the special font templates that were unique to Black Sparrow books, it was a very interesting experience, they still do printing there & there is a lot of amazing prints on really quality & rare paper sources there, I could feel the vibe of Black Sparrow’s origins all around the place, I had a few Buk books leftover that Red gave me that were not signed, which made them less vulnerable to my SF junky moments, but sadly they burned in my house in the Santa Rosa fire in 2017, the only one I have replaced is Wanda Coleman’s ‘Bathwater Wine’…I loved reading this, because Black Sparrow was such a huge influence on me as well & Iris, both of our first books on PHP have covers that pay homage to the Black Sparrow aesthetic…
I remember seeing a copy of Crucifix in a Deathhand for $60 and thought "I can't spend that on a book." I was making $5 an hour then. Maybe that was one of your old copies! ha ha.
I remember finding out about the collectible comics market in the late '80s. At the time, Amazing Fantasy 15 (first Spider-Man) was going for $3000. It's now a million bucks
It was crucifix, the days go running over the hills like wild horses, you get so alone sometimes & the r. Crumb illustrated one, all signed by Buk with a lil cartoon on 2 of them…
I’m running down all I can remember, Thai spot, international cafe, mad dog in the fog, that music venue what was it called? Horseshoe, spaghetti western, midtown, liquor store, beauty salon? I can’t recall a bookstore right now…
Those Black Sparrow editions were magic. I remember an interview with Martin where he decried the slim volumes of poetry that were the standard. He wanted poetry books to be big in every way.
As a young poet, I wrote a new poem every week, and took it out on a circuit of open mikes, rewriting it. But these weren't all "keepers." It was something for me to really create 16-24 pages a year. Some of those BS thick books looked like a lifetime of work to me. If John Martin, for some reason, had taken a liking to me when I first read those books, it would have taken me 10 years to deliver a quality manuscript. Without getting into a whole other topic here, I'll just briefly say I hear my own creative voice now in prose. I don't hear the poems in my head anymore. Rarely, I should say. But I'll close the comment with this: those BS books had a nice weight in my hands. It felt like I was holding a book. It's part of going to a bookstore to pick out a book, once it's picked up, I really think that heft matters to a lot of readers.
Happy belated birthday, Bucky! I used to teach the fight scene on the roof from Post Office, where Henry gets his ass kicked and he describes the blows as colors. At least that's how I remember it.
Great article! Now I have to find myself an old worn copy of one of these books - hopefully before your readers snatch them all up! Many used bookstores here in SF still hold certain books behind the counter so they don’t get stolen. (Especially that Abbie Hoffman book 😉)
Nice one, Bucky, and great info about Fante's twilight years. I once did an SF Weekly column about book shoplifting, and called a number of bookstores to ask the most-stolen author, which was Bukowski, hands down across the board, as you write here. I then called Black Sparrow Press in Santa Rosa to ask John what Bukowski might think of this, and he replied that Buk would have HATED to learn that.
Yep! I heard it all the time doing phone sales for Last Gasp. The marijuana growing guides were also prime targets
bukhead = bukowski stan; buckhead = bucky stan
When Black Sparrow published a book by Edward Field, Field said he was told by Martin to write more poems because the book was too short, something he had never been told before.
BS's books had a really nice weight in the hands. Part of it was the coverstock/paperstock. But there were no slim 64 page poetry books either!
I got turned on to Black Sparrow Press in my homeless street teens hanging out at Baroque Books off of Hollywood Blvd, Red Stoldosky curated the books & was friends with John & Barbara, he even influenced the whole Fante arrangement & was, of course, a champion of Buk, but also Wanda Coleman, he had a long friendship with Henry Miller & I drove him up to Big Sur to see a memorial commemoration at the Henry Miller Library, which Red gave me a box of books for my trouble, several of them were signed Bukowski first prints from Black Sparrow, which I ended selling gradually to those 2 bookstores that used to be on 16th between Dolores & Valencia for smack around the time I met you, got an average of 100 bucks a book back then, it kept me ‘well’ when my hustle was flat, but the regrets will haunt me every once in a while…back in 2013 I got to go to Sonoma County & see the printing studio Graham McIntosh worked out of, where he & Barbara would work out designs & where he created the special font templates that were unique to Black Sparrow books, it was a very interesting experience, they still do printing there & there is a lot of amazing prints on really quality & rare paper sources there, I could feel the vibe of Black Sparrow’s origins all around the place, I had a few Buk books leftover that Red gave me that were not signed, which made them less vulnerable to my SF junky moments, but sadly they burned in my house in the Santa Rosa fire in 2017, the only one I have replaced is Wanda Coleman’s ‘Bathwater Wine’…I loved reading this, because Black Sparrow was such a huge influence on me as well & Iris, both of our first books on PHP have covers that pay homage to the Black Sparrow aesthetic…
Also, a short story collection idea for you: "Treasures I Sold for Junk."
That’s going into the notes, for sure, you’re gonna have to write another intro for me tho…
I remember seeing a copy of Crucifix in a Deathhand for $60 and thought "I can't spend that on a book." I was making $5 an hour then. Maybe that was one of your old copies! ha ha.
I remember finding out about the collectible comics market in the late '80s. At the time, Amazing Fantasy 15 (first Spider-Man) was going for $3000. It's now a million bucks
It was crucifix, the days go running over the hills like wild horses, you get so alone sometimes & the r. Crumb illustrated one, all signed by Buk with a lil cartoon on 2 of them…
Was it at that 16th St bookstore? The one across the street from the Albion?
No, it was on haight near Fillmore. I didn’t like that store and I only barely remember it. Was it called Diluvian?
Haight & Fillmore? Pizza side or Horseshoe side?
Horseshoe side. Was there a bookstore there? It’s fuzzy
I’m running down all I can remember, Thai spot, international cafe, mad dog in the fog, that music venue what was it called? Horseshoe, spaghetti western, midtown, liquor store, beauty salon? I can’t recall a bookstore right now…
Those Black Sparrow editions were magic. I remember an interview with Martin where he decried the slim volumes of poetry that were the standard. He wanted poetry books to be big in every way.
As a young poet, I wrote a new poem every week, and took it out on a circuit of open mikes, rewriting it. But these weren't all "keepers." It was something for me to really create 16-24 pages a year. Some of those BS thick books looked like a lifetime of work to me. If John Martin, for some reason, had taken a liking to me when I first read those books, it would have taken me 10 years to deliver a quality manuscript. Without getting into a whole other topic here, I'll just briefly say I hear my own creative voice now in prose. I don't hear the poems in my head anymore. Rarely, I should say. But I'll close the comment with this: those BS books had a nice weight in my hands. It felt like I was holding a book. It's part of going to a bookstore to pick out a book, once it's picked up, I really think that heft matters to a lot of readers.
I ordered a bunch of used Black Sparrows prompted by your post. I'm itching to move into a rowdy poem mode.
Oh sweet! Looking forward to the results.
Happy belated birthday, Bucky! I used to teach the fight scene on the roof from Post Office, where Henry gets his ass kicked and he describes the blows as colors. At least that's how I remember it.
I dislike cream and beige in any and every circumstance EXCEPT for the covers of Black Sparrow books. They are just perfect!
Great article! Now I have to find myself an old worn copy of one of these books - hopefully before your readers snatch them all up! Many used bookstores here in SF still hold certain books behind the counter so they don’t get stolen. (Especially that Abbie Hoffman book 😉)
Oh also - happy belated birthday! 🎁🎈