Who's Big in the 'Littles'. A Critical Study of the Impact of the Little Magazines and Small Press Publications on the Career of Charles Bukowski from 1940 to 1969

Abstract

Charles Bukowski was a product of the small press, a unique phenomenon of the so-called little magazines that proliferated in the United States during the 60s. His long journey, his indefatigable odyssey through the 'littles' and the small press was finally rewarded after many a bitter battle in the back alleys of the American literary scene. He was scorned, sneered at and mocked by countless authors and critics, and he was largely rejected by academic quarterlies; his work was dismissed as the product of an ignorant drunk lecher who could not write poetry. Unconcerned, imperturbable, and possessed by an unstoppable urge to write, Bukowski, far from the madding crowd, slowly edged his way through the literary turmoil of the 60s and emerged as one of the main figures of that period, an indisputable 'American legend.'

Date of Award	27 Jul 2009
Original language	English
Supervisor	Andrew Monnickendam Findlay (Director)