The Roominghouse Madrigals: Early Selected Poems, 1946-1966

I thought that this collection was one of Bukowski's best. I have a number of books from this publisher and think they are classy, functional, and even though paperback feel like you are really holding something.

So many of my pages are dog eared from marking all the poems that "spoke" to me. I was continually sharing the poems with anyone around me. I think that's what poetry should do. He inspires me to write more and be more observant of the little things. I like the rough edge the poems have. They seem so raw and written with such passion. Check him out if you have never read Bukowski - give it a try.

if you're a bukowski fan, then this a must read--some poems hit you hard--others not so hard but thats the risk with hk and most often well worth it

Like drinking, so it is w/ Bukowski's poetry: it is all a gamble. Some nights the liquor or atmosphere is right and you get good and drunk and feel fine; other nites you get ill and nauseous and spend the early morn puking on the old rug. Some of his poems are excellent, they help one deal w/ this life here; others, well, maybe they should have been used as rolling papers. Still, like drinking, it is time well-spent. We must have endurance and courage to keep on drinking and keep on reading. My hand shakes as I finish...

I love this book. Poems like "layover" and "old man dead in a room" -- and dozens more like them -- offer vintage Buk from the tough old days. Along with The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills, Burning in Water Drowning in Flame and Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, this volume is absolute must reading for any Bukowski fan.