From the Back Cover The definitive collection of works on a subject that inspired and haunted Charles Bukowski for his entire life: alcohol. Charles Bukowski turns to the bottle in this revelatory collection of poetry and prose that includes some of the writer's best and most lasting work. A self-proclaimed dirty old man, Bukowski used alcohol as muse and as fuel, a conflicted relationship responsible for some of his darkest moments as well as some of his most joyful and illuminating. In On Drinking , Bukowski expert Abel Debritto has collected the writer's most profound, funny, and memorable work on his ups and downs with the hard stuff--a topic that allowed Bukowski to explore some of life's most pressing questions. Through drink, Bukowski is able to be alone, to be with people, to be a poet, a lover, and a friend--though often at great cost. As Bukowski writes in a poem simply titled drinking for me / it was or / is / a manner of / dying / with boots on / and gun / smoking and a / symphony music background. On Drinking is a powerful testament to the pleasures and miseries of a life in drink, and a window into the soul of one of our most beloved and enduring writers.