Screams from the Balcony
The selected letters covering the same decade, mostly to editors and publishers.
Read our takeBeerspit Night and Cursing
Charles Bukowski
Beerspit Night and Cursing
Seven years of letters with the artist Sheri Martinelli — one of the few people Bukowski argued with about art rather than performing for.
- 2001
About Charles Bukowski
About the volume
Beerspit Night and Cursing, published by Black Sparrow Press in 2001 and edited by Steven Moore, prints the correspondence between Charles Bukowski and the artist Sheri Martinelli from 1960 to 1967. Martinelli was a painter who had lived in the orbit of Ezra Pound, who wrote an introduction to a book of her work, and she is one of the few correspondents with whom Bukowski dropped the persona and argued seriously about literature and painting. The letters cover exactly the years he was moving from little-magazine obscurity toward his first full-length books, and they show him thinking aloud about art rather than performing indifference to it. The limited issue of 526 numbered copies was hand-bound by Earle Gray and carries an original serigraph by Bukowski.
The volume, in more detail
Most published Bukowski correspondence is with editors and publishers, which produces letters about submissions, money and print runs. This is different: two artists arguing. Martinelli pushed back, knew the modernist canon from inside it, and was not impressed by the pose, and the letters are sharper for it. They stop in 1967, the year before Black Sparrow began publishing him.
Why we recommend it
An argument between two artists
Most of the published correspondence is with editors. This is a painter who pushed back.
The obscure years, from inside
1960 to 1967, ending the year before Black Sparrow began publishing him.
What this book explores
Timeline
1960
The correspondence begins, the year Bukowski's first chapbook appears.
1967
The letters stop, a year before Black Sparrow begins publishing him.
2001
Black Sparrow publishes the correspondence, edited by Steven Moore.
Book editions
- Paperback
- Black Sparrow Press
- 2001
- 9781574231502
- Hardcover
- Black Sparrow Press
- 2001
- 9781574231519
- Hardcover
- Black Sparrow Press
- 2001
- 9781574231526
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
It Catches My Heart in Its Hands
The 1963 Loujon collection, published in the middle of this correspondence.
Read our take
Beerspit Night and Cursing: frequently asked questions
What is Beerspit Night and Cursing?
The correspondence between Charles Bukowski and the artist Sheri Martinelli, 1960 to 1967, published by Black Sparrow Press in 2001 and edited by Steven Moore.
Who was Sheri Martinelli?
A painter who had lived in Ezra Pound's orbit — Pound wrote the introduction to a book of her work published in Milan in 1956.
How is it different from the selected letters?
Those are mostly to editors and publishers, and are about submissions, money and print runs. These are two artists arguing about literature and painting.
What years does it cover?
1960 to 1967 — ending the year before John Martin began publishing Bukowski at Black Sparrow Press.
Is there a limited edition?
Yes: 526 numbered and lettered copies hand-bound by Earle Gray, each with an original Bukowski serigraph.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Beerspit Night and Cursing, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Beerspit Night and Cursing
LettersCharles Bukowski, 2001Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Charles Bukowski timeline (bukowski.net)
WebsiteUsed forPublication details, the editor and the edition issues.
3Charles Bukowski: books and chapbooks (Verdant Press checklist)
WebsiteUsed forBibliographic details including the hand-bound issue.
4Charles Bukowski
BiographyReaktion Books, 2012Used forThe 1960s correspondence and the pre-Black Sparrow years.
5Charles Bukowski (Poetry Foundation)
WebsiteUsed forCareer context for the obscure decade the letters cover.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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