Post Office (book)
Encyclopedia
Post Office is a 1971
novel
written by Charles Bukowski
. In the same way that Ham On Rye
can be said to be an autobiographical account of Bukowski's childhood, Post Office may be said to be an autobiographical account of Bukowski's later years.
Down-and-out barfly Henry Chinaski
becomes a substitute mail carrier
; he quits for a while and lives on his winnings at the track, then becomes a mail clerk. The work is menial, boring and degrading. Our hero survives through booze and women, combined with an extremely cynical view of the world.
Bukowski's first novel, Post Office, is "dedicated to nobody". The great love of Bukowski's life, Jane Cooney Baker ("Betty" in Post Office), was a widowed alcoholic 11 years his senior with an immense beer belly. She also served as the model for "Wanda" in the 1987 Bukowski-scripted film Barfly. Bukowski's first wife, Barbara Frye ("Joyce"), suffered a physical deformity – two vertebrae were missing from her neck, giving the impression that "she was permanently hunching her shoulders". After a little over two years of marriage in the late 1950s, she filed for divorce, accusing him of "mental cruelty". In the novel, Joyce is portrayed as a wealthy nymphomaniac.
Post Office is the first novel by Bukowski to feature his autobiographical anti-hero
, Henry Chinaski. It covers the period of Bukowski's life from about 1952 to his resignation from the United States Postal Service
three years later, to his return in 1958 and then to his final resignation in 1969. During this time, Chinaski/Bukowski worked as a mail carrier for a number of years. After a brief hiatus, in which he supported himself by gambling at horse races, he returned to the Post Office to work as a sorter.
According to Born into This, a documentary on Bukowski's life, Black Sparrow Press founder and owner John Martin
, offered Bukowski 100 dollars per month for life on condition that Bukowski would quit working for the post office and write full time. He agreed and Post Office was written within a month. Post Office was Bukowski's first foray into writing a novel. All of his earlier work had been poetry. Martin was actually a little worried that Bukowski would not be able to make the transition to prose. However, the fear turned out to be quite unfounded as Bukowski had no trouble writing stories about his life.
1971 in literature
The year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
. In the same way that Ham On Rye
Ham on Rye
Ham on Rye is a 1982 semi-autobiographical novel by American author and poet Charles Bukowski. Written in the first person, the novel follows Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s thinly-veiled alter ego, during his early years...
can be said to be an autobiographical account of Bukowski's childhood, Post Office may be said to be an autobiographical account of Bukowski's later years.
Down-and-out barfly Henry Chinaski
Henry Chinaski
Henry Charles "Hank" Chinaski is the semi-autobiographical protagonist of several works by the American writer Charles Bukowski. He appears in five of Bukowski's novels, a number of his short stories and poems, and the 1987 film Barfly. An author character, Chinaski's biography is largely based on...
becomes a substitute mail carrier
Mail carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman , postman/postwoman , letter carrier or postie is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses...
; he quits for a while and lives on his winnings at the track, then becomes a mail clerk. The work is menial, boring and degrading. Our hero survives through booze and women, combined with an extremely cynical view of the world.
Bukowski's first novel, Post Office, is "dedicated to nobody". The great love of Bukowski's life, Jane Cooney Baker ("Betty" in Post Office), was a widowed alcoholic 11 years his senior with an immense beer belly. She also served as the model for "Wanda" in the 1987 Bukowski-scripted film Barfly. Bukowski's first wife, Barbara Frye ("Joyce"), suffered a physical deformity – two vertebrae were missing from her neck, giving the impression that "she was permanently hunching her shoulders". After a little over two years of marriage in the late 1950s, she filed for divorce, accusing him of "mental cruelty". In the novel, Joyce is portrayed as a wealthy nymphomaniac.
Post Office is the first novel by Bukowski to feature his autobiographical anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
, Henry Chinaski. It covers the period of Bukowski's life from about 1952 to his resignation from the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
three years later, to his return in 1958 and then to his final resignation in 1969. During this time, Chinaski/Bukowski worked as a mail carrier for a number of years. After a brief hiatus, in which he supported himself by gambling at horse races, he returned to the Post Office to work as a sorter.
According to Born into This, a documentary on Bukowski's life, Black Sparrow Press founder and owner John Martin
John Martin (publisher)
John Martin was the founder of Black Sparrow Press. He was in the book business for 36 years, retiring in 2002. He is most noted for helping to launch the literary career of Charles Bukowski and re-publishing the catalog of John Fante. He sold 650 titles annually, with more than $1 million in...
, offered Bukowski 100 dollars per month for life on condition that Bukowski would quit working for the post office and write full time. He agreed and Post Office was written within a month. Post Office was Bukowski's first foray into writing a novel. All of his earlier work had been poetry. Martin was actually a little worried that Bukowski would not be able to make the transition to prose. However, the fear turned out to be quite unfounded as Bukowski had no trouble writing stories about his life.