Routledge Charles Bukowski, Outsider Literature, and the Beat Movement (Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature)

This book uses cultural and psycho-social analysis to examine the beat writer Charles Bukowski and his literature, focusing on representations of the anti-hero rebel and outsider. Clements considers the complexities, ambiguities, and contradictions represented by the author and his work, exploring Bukowski’s visceral writing of the cultural ordinary and everyday self-narrative. The study considers Bukowski’s apolitical, gendered, and working-class stance to understand how the writer represents reality and is represented with regards to counter-cultural literature. In addition, Clements provides a broader socio-cultural focus that evaluates counterculture in relation to the American beat movement and mythology, highlighting the male cool anti-hero. The cultural practices and discourses utilized to situate Bukowski include the individual and society, outsiderdom, cult celebrity, fan embodiment, and disneyfication, providing a greater understanding of the beat generation and counterculture literature. Review "Clements examines Bukowski in relationship to popular culture and popular notions of the man and his writing today and during his time. He deftly climbs many different frameworks and examines critics and authors, as well as theories and theorists, in an attempt to illuminate the dark dystopia of Bukowskiland―Bukowski, his writing, his fans, his life, etc. This volume is not for the faint of heart and is an excellent resource for serious Bukowski scholars, graduate students, and faculty examining this poet and author." - Michelle M. Martínez, Sam Houston State University in The Journal of American Culture About the Author Paul Clements is Lecturer and Senior Tutor at Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK.