It was late one night when I got home from the bar. Rough day? I don’t remember, just knew the girl took the keys and I ordered another drink.
By the time we got home it was already after 11, and a quick glance at the internet reminded me that there was some deadline that night… right, the Bukoswki tribute anthology. I had a story for that… no… poem.
I checked the guidelines, but it didn’t say anything about poems. Time was ticking, and I said, fuck it, did a few quick edits and sent it anyways.
What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire was my introduction to Bukowski, and a book I carried around for several months. He brought something to me, to my work, that had been missing in the halls of poetry workshops. He brought a type of humanity that my readings had overlooked. He has stained me in the best possible way.
But don’t take my word for it. Go, read. Check out this tribute by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing and see others influenced as well.
Long Distance Drunks – Edited by Max Booth III
