Poet, short-story writer, and novelist Charles Bukowski (1920-94) was once called by Time a "laureate of American lowlife." In this new interpretation of his life and work, David Stephen Calonne examines the creation and originality of Bukowski's writings through the lens of his colorful life, the literary traditions that influenced him, and his unique place in world literature. Calonne describes how Bukowski, who was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States at the age of three, was influenced by German literary and intellectual traditions. He shows how the writer's...