Tuesday, December 8, 2009

don`t be a pussy, just sign the petition. you won`t be called on to do anything or give any of your hard-earned money....just read it and sign.

LOS ANGELES- In 1969, when the 49-year-old underground poet and columnist
Charles Bukowski quit his job at the Terminal Annex postal sorting facility,
he was one step ahead of a pink slip. Offered $100 a month by an editor who
believed in his work, Bukowski took the leap to become a professional
writer, and in just a few weeks produced his first novel, the
autobiographical "Post Office."

Bukowski never held a day job again. He would go on to write six more
novels, the screenplay to "Barfly" and thousands of poems, and to find
international acclaim as one of the truly distinctive voices of Los Angeles
literature. Although he died in 1994, his literary output continues with
posthumous anthologies, and he is widely known among American booksellers as
the most shoplifted author on their shelves.

In 2006, Bukowski's archives were acquired by the Huntington Library, and in
2008 the modest East Hollywood cottage where he wrote "Post Office" was
named one of the Historic-Cultural Monuments of the City of Los Angeles.

But one perfectly apt honor still eludes Bukowski: shouldn't the second most
famous American postal worker after Benjamin Franklin have his own postage
stamp?

Richard Schave and Kim Cooper of the L.A.-based literary bus tour company
Esotouric think so, and have launched a petition asking the Citizens Stamp
Advisory Committee
to consider recommending that a commemorative Bukowski
stamp be released on the 20th anniversary of his death (March 9, 2014).

Esotouric's celebrations of Bukowski's life and work include the bus tour
"Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA" (next scheduled on April
24), working on the campaign to have his home landmarked, and inviting
journalist Marco Mannone to host a Bukowski Salon at the October 2009
Downtown LA Art Walk. They also spearheaded the successful campaign to have
the corner of Fifth and Grand, at the LA Central Library, designated John
Fante
Square, after the writer who Bukowski called "my God."

The online Charles Bukowski Stamp Petition will remain active until March 1,
2010, when it will be printed out and submitted to the Citizens Stamp
Advisory Committee, the volunteer group that advises the postal service on
appropriate choices for commemorative stamps.

To view or sign the petition, please visit:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/bukowskistamp

5 comments:

Richie said...

I can't think of anything better.

Anonymous said...

good idea, one of my favorite writers. i wonder what he would have said after seeing stamp with his mug on it.

Anonymous said...

good idea. wonder what he would have said after seeing a stamp with his mug on it.

Clarke said...

i just read hot water music, a collection of his short stories. and i found one common theme. you dont have to give a fuck and it wont make too much of a difference.

scrapmetalart said...

I have read 4 of his books as of late. Great stuff. SIGNED! Thanks