News at Eleven: But as is the case with a lot of [Charles] Bukowski's

work and history, his attitude to spoken word was partly an exercise in self-mythology. The sheer amount of poetry he recorded and readings he gave are testament to the fact that he saw live poetry as something that was important to his both career and his reputation. And as this letter from 1971 demonstrates, he was more than willing to turn up and do his thing in front of a crowd providing the price was right.

from Sabotage Times: Bukowski's Best Spoken Word Poetry

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