There’s a movement here in LA to save Charles Bukowski’s bungalow from redevelopment by naming it a cultural landmark. This should strike anyone who has read his books as deliciously ironic: Bukowski was always tearing down cultural landmarks of one form or another, as when he said that writers like Camus always wrote as though they were sipping fine wine. (While Bukowski was guzzling rotgut, which I suppose was somehow better.)

If you’re of a mind to get involved in preserving said bungalow, the necessary information follows. You’ll also note the poem below, which is so bad that it works against the main argument.

For those who can’t be there, you can send your letter and/or email of support before September 20 to:
Attn. Mary Martin, 200 N. Spring St., Rm. 620, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(or edgar.garcia@lacity.org)

In a poem dedicated to his publisher John Martin, Bukowski wrote: “and thank you/ for locating me there at/ 5124 De Longpre Avenue/ somewhere between/ alcoholism and/ madness./ together we/ laid down the gauntlet/ and there are takers/ even at this late date/ still to be/ found/ as the fire sings/ through the/ trees.”

—

Bukowski fans–there’s a meeting to try and save the Hollywood Bungalow where the dirty old man lived and wrote for many years:
Thursday, Sept. 20th, 10 AM, LA City Hall

Lend your voice to preserve the cultural heritage of literary LA. More details and article links are below.

May the Muse be with you,

Nicole

Explosive PR wrote:

Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:18:51 -0700
From: Explosive PR
To: “esotouricbustours@esotouric.com”
Subject: [Esotouric] Charles Bukowski’s Bungalow in Time;
Preservation hearing on Thursday

Gentle reader,

Matt Kettmann of Time Magazine has covered Lauren Everett’s campaign to save
Charles Bukowski’s bungalow apartment, saying “The little bungalow at 5124
De Longpre Avenue in East Hollywood was the epicenter of a cultural
earthquake that continues to rock Los Angeles’s literary landscape. It is
the house where Charles Bukowski went from blue-collar postman to full-time
writer, eventually becoming world famous for his bawdy tales of lust,
liquor, and love.” Richard has some nice quotes, too.

On Thursday morning, the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission will decide the
building’s fate, and we’d like to invite any interested people who can get
there to join us for the hearing, and to speak if they feel moved. Hearing
details are below.

The Cultural Heritage Commission has agreed to put 5124 De Longpre Ave. on
the agenda for their September 20th meeting. They will hear a presentation
on the property, and will decide whether to proceed with the landmarking
process.

Members of the public may attend the hearing, and following the formal
presentation that Lauren Everett will be making, can speak up in favor of
the preservation of this building. If you wish to speak, please contact
Lauren so that all interested parties can meet on the morning of the hearing
and plan the best possible presentation to our friends at the CHC. Reminder:
this Commission has nothing to do with boarding up De Longpre, can help us
enormously, and should be treated with respect and appreciation.

Hearing information: Thursday Sept. 20, Room 1010 of Los Angeles City Hall,
200 N. Spring St., 90012. Meeting starts at 10:00 am.

Contact link

Time Magazine article

yrs,
Kim
Esotouric

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 8:28 am and is filed under On being, Thoughts, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.