The Last Night of the Earth Poems
The final lifetime poetry collection, two years later.
Read our takeSeptuagenarian Stew
Charles Bukowski
Septuagenarian Stew
Eighty poems and twenty stories shuffled together, published the year Bukowski turned seventy and named for it.
- 1990
- Wry
- Melancholy
- Savage
- autobiographical
- voice-driven
- funny
- spare
About Charles Bukowski
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeSeptuagenarian Stew, published by Black Sparrow Press in 1990, is a 384-page volume mixing eighty poems with twenty short stories, interleaved rather than separated into sections. The title is literal: Bukowski turned seventy that year, and the book is the stew a septuagenarian makes of his own material. The mixing is the formal point. Bukowski had published poetry and prose in separate books for thirty years, and here they run together in the order he wanted them, so a story about the racetrack can sit against a poem about the same afternoon.
The story, in more detail
By 1990 Bukowski had been famous for more than a decade and settled in San Pedro for twelve years. A writer that established can tell his publisher how he wants a book arranged, and this one is arranged the way he wanted: the two forms together instead of in separate volumes.
Why we recommend it
Both forms, in his own order
Poetry and prose interleaved by the author rather than separated by a publisher — a late freedom, and it reads well.
The seventieth-year book
Written and titled from inside old age, four years before the end.
What this book explores
Timeline
1990
Bukowski turns seventy in August; Black Sparrow publishes the volume the same year.
1992
The Last Night of the Earth Poems follows — the final lifetime poetry collection.
Book editions
- Paperback
- Black Sparrow Press
- 1990
- 9780876857977
Reader reviews
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Read our takeSeptuagenarian Stew: frequently asked questions
What is Septuagenarian Stew?
A 1990 Black Sparrow volume mixing eighty Charles Bukowski poems with twenty short stories across 384 pages, interleaved rather than sorted into sections.
Where does the title come from?
Bukowski turned seventy in 1990, the year it was published. The word is both the joke and the plain description.
Why are the poems and stories mixed together?
Because Bukowski wanted them that way. He had published the two forms in separate books for thirty years; here they run in his own order, so a story and a poem about the same afternoon can sit together.
Where does it fall in his career?
Late. Only The Last Night of the Earth Poems (1992) and the novel Pulp (1994) were published after it in his lifetime.
Is it a good place to start?
Not the first book, but a good second or third. It rewards a reader who already knows both the poetry and the stories.
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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 Septuagenarian Stew, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Septuagenarian Stew
NovelCharles Bukowski, 1990Used 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 year, the contents count, and the late chronology.
3Charles Bukowski: books and chapbooks (Verdant Press checklist)
WebsiteUsed forBibliographic details checked against the checklist.
5Charles Bukowski
BiographyReaktion Books, 2012Used forThe San Pedro years and the settled late practice.
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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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