Charles Bukowski (1920 – 1994) was a relevant German writer and poet who at the age of three emigrated to the United States, where he became a citizen and lived (mostly in the city of Los Angeles) until the day of his tragic death.

This famous writer was the author of great works such as: “Women”, “Pulp”, “Hollywood”, “Writings of an indecent old man” or “Woman Wanted”. If you have never heard of him, maybe this is the opportunity you have been waiting for to discover him.

Charles Bukowski’s best phrases and reflections

Below you will find a selection of the 90 best sentences by Charles Bukowski , one of the most relevant authors of the 20th century.

1. Some people never go crazy. What a horrible life they must have.

Bukowski has a way of understanding himself and the people around him in a very particular way. What would life be like without a little bit of madness?

2. Real solitude is not necessarily limited to when you are alone.

Loneliness can be a very unpleasant feeling, and we don’t abandon ourselves even if we are surrounded by people.

3. How sad those years were, having the desire and the need to live but not having the ability.

When we discover our great passion for a job, we learn to use our time in a much more productive way.

4. Love is a form of prejudice. You love what you need, you love what makes you feel good, you love what is good for you.

A very particular way of looking at love, something like a relationship of mutual interest.

5. You have to die a few times before you can really live.

If we do not suffer from mistakes we can never learn from them, mistakes teach us how to live our life.

6. When something bad happens, you drink to forget it; if something good happens, you drink to celebrate it; and if nothing happens, you also drink to make something happen.

Alcoholism is an evil that is very widespread in our society and that greatly conditions our way of life.

7. They can see you dying in a ditch and they’ll walk past you and spit on you.

Evil is deeply rooted within people, and the human being is the only animal that kills for pleasure.

8. Of course it is possible to love another person if you don’t know them very well.

When we really know someone and see all their faults, we find it harder to love them.

9. I like to think of all those people who taught me things I never imagined before.

Learning from the knowledge that others can bring to us is something that we must all know how to do.

10. We ended up crazy and alone.

Old age is a stage that can be very hard if we don’t have the support of our friends and family.

11. The free soul is easily identified when you see it.

It is true that when we see a person that we can consider a free soul, we perceive him as such at first sight, just with a glance.

12. Almost always, the best thing in life is to do nothing at all, to spend time reflecting.

Reflecting is something that can bring us many benefits, listening to ourselves and reflecting on our thoughts is an activity that many of us do not do due to lack of time.

13. Love burns with the first sun of reality.

Love can disappear as suddenly as it appeared in our lives.

14. I have to go, I don’t know exactly why; I’m crazy I guess. Goodbye.

A quote that shows us very well the eccentric personality that Bukowski possessed.

15. Beware of those who seek crowds.

Those who wish to do evil know that surrounded by people they go unnoticed.

16. He never felt lonely; the more he was separated from people, the better he felt.

At certain times in life we need some moments of solitude to be able to think clearly and understand what we want or need.

17. It takes a lot of desperation, dissatisfaction and disappointment to write a few good poems.

The most unpleasant feelings can bring us the inspiration to write about them.

18. People don’t want to work, people want to live well, but without working.

It’s a great truth, we all want to live in luxury and not have to work.

19. The difference between a brave and a coward is that a coward thinks twice before jumping into a cage with a lion. The brave one simply does not know what a lion is.

We must not confuse courage with ignorance, for the ignorant can appear very brave when they do not know how to calculate correctly the risks they take.

20. To find out who your friends are, have them put you in jail.

It is in the hardest moments of life that we really see who supports us and who does not.

21. Knowledge, if not applied, is worse than ignorance.

Knowledge in the wrong hands can be very counterproductive for society.

22. Psychiatrists should have a term for that, I have a term for psychiatrists too.

This writer had an opinion about psychiatrists that he decided to keep to himself on this date, which was certainly not very positive.

23. A man brings out only trouble from thought.

In many occasions our thoughts only bring us more doubts, we must reflect and we must also know when not to reflect.

24. Anything can drive a man crazy because society is built on a false foundation.

The society in which we live can be seen as a mere mirage, for in the most difficult situations, where emotions surface, people cease to be civilized.

25. Examining your own mind is the worst thing a madman can do.

Spinning the problems too much will not bring us any greater benefits.

26. The well-balanced individual is crazy.

We all have our own particular madness and that madness makes us the complete person we are.

27. Man is born to die.

Dying is something that, like the rest of living beings, we men will also have to face.

28. I just know that there are too many people who are afraid.

Fear and doubt are our greatest enemies, for with them internalized we cannot move forward in life.

29. This is how democracy works: you take what you can, try to keep it and add something if possible.

This writer’s understanding of democracy can be shared by many of us.

30. When love is an order, hate can become a pleasure.

Forced love doesn’t exist, love springs up only when he wants it.

31. It’s 4:30 in the morning. It’s always 4:30 in the morning.

Life can be tedious at times, because each day can seem to be the same as yesterday and the same as tomorrow.

32. Our society has been formed by our lack of spirit.

Society can be seen as very grey and lacking in personality, especially if our mood is low.

33. Pain was for me only like bad luck: I ignored it.

Sometimes in life it is easier to ignore problems than to face them.

34. Loving people felt freer, but lacked the capacity to feel or love.

There are people who really don’t love anyone, they just want to be accompanied so they don’t feel alone.

35. We made love in the midst of sadness.

Making love can be a relief in situations of great emotional sadness.

36. Most people go from nothing to the grave without the horror of life touching them.

We must live our lives intensely and not get carried away by the society in which we live.

37. When the spirit vanishes, the form appears.

When we stop being ourselves we become only a shadow of what we were before.

38. Another thing in this society is what hurts you.

Society often leads us to ignore the social dramas that surround us.

39. Fuck the truth. Style is more important: how to do each thing one by one.

The truth is often overlooked in society and we only care about the most superfluous aspects.

40. Even at the racetrack I see the horses running and I don’t think it makes sense.

Is it really necessary for horses to compete at a racetrack? Or is it just another crazy part of the society we live in?

41. For those who believe in God, the most important questions have been answered. But for those who cannot accept God’s formula, the important answers are not written in stone.

Religion can bring us a great deal of serenity and resignation, as it provides us with a solution to all of life’s problems.

42. Sometimes you get out of bed in the morning and think you can’t make it, but you laugh inside because you remember all the times you’ve felt that way.

Pessimism accompanies us many times in life and is not always in reason.

43. I have never worried about loneliness because I have always had it as an itch. It’s like being at a party or in a stadium full of people cheering for someone else.

Loneliness can be something we desire at times, for it can be comforting at certain times.

44. If you’re going to try, go all the way. If not, don’t even try. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and even your mind. It could keep you from eating for days… And it’ll be better than anything you’ve ever tried.

We must be consistent with our thoughts and strive to make our dreams come true.

45. Oh, honey. Find what you love and let it kill you. Let me take everything from you. Let it get on your back and make you come down to nothing. Let it kill you and devour your remains. Because everything will kill you and it’s better to be killed for something you want.

The thing we love most is the only thing worth dying for, for it is everything to us.

46. Some lose their mind and become soul, crazy. Some lose their souls and become minds, intellectuals. Some lose both and are accepted.

This quote talks about the formula that leads us to be accepted by society, which is none other than letting ourselves be carried away by society and its stereotypes.

47. Being alone never felt right. Sometimes it felt good, but never adequate.

Nobody wants to be alone in life, human beings need contact with others of their species.

48. Boring people all over the Earth, making more boring people spread. What a horror movie. The Earth is infested with them.

If we let ourselves be carried away by society we become a kind of automaton that only does what is expected of us.

49. A love like that was a serious illness. A disease you never really recover from.

Great loves mark us forever and we will always remember them, they will always occupy part of our being.

50. There is a place in the heart that is never filled. A space that even in the best of times will never be filled, and we will wait in that space.

The human being never feels satisfied throughout his existence, because our desire for self-improvement always leads us to try to reach the next step or the next level.

51. It was true that I did not have much ambition, but there had to be a place for people without ambition.

In today’s society, people without ambition become mere numbers, useful and necessary for people who do have ambition.

52. I stopped looking for the girl of my dreams, I just wanted one that wasn’t a nightmare.

Finding the right person to share our life can be very complicated and Charles Bukowski lived that search as well.

53. There is no cure for pain unless you know someone who understands how you feel and knows how to help you.

The support of our loved ones is vital in order to overcome our emotional problems.

54. I’m a genius but no one knows it but me.

The personality of this writer was undoubtedly the one that led him to the top of the success. was decisive in his life.

55. We are like roses that never cared to bloom when we should have and of which the sun got tired.

We are the ones who boycott ourselves over and over again in life.

56. How can you say that you love someone when there are ten thousand people in the world that you would love more if you knew them?

Life places certain limitations on us that greatly condition our destiny and future.

57. Good human beings save the world so that bastards like me can continue to create art, become immortal. If you read this after I’m dead, then I’ve done it.

Artists are known for their eccentric personalities and this writer was no exception.

58. I usually bring something to read so I don’t have to see people.

Engaging in reading can help us escape from the reality in which we find ourselves.

59. I went to the worst bar hoping to get killed but all I could do was get drunk.

This writer’s fondness for drinking was something that accompanied him throughout his life.

60. The shortest distance between two points is usually unbearable.

The easy way can also be the most boring. Problems give us more opportunities to try to improve ourselves.

61. There is always a woman who saves you from another, and while she is saving you, she is preparing to destroy you.

Bukowski always had a weakness for women, but the psyche of women was a bit strange to him.

62. One should not mourn for death, just as one should not feel sad for a flower that grows. What is terrible is not death but the lives that people live or do not live.

Death, as this famous writer says, is not sad. What is really sad is not living life intensely enough.

63. The pain is strange. It’s a cat killing a bird, a car accident, a fire. The pain comes BANG! and sits on you. It’s real. And to anyone who looks at you, you look like an idiot. Like you’ve suddenly become a fool.

Pain can appear at any unexpected time, as there are many types of pain, both physical and emotional.

64. People without morals consider themselves more free, but most lack the ability to feel or to love.

Morality puts certain limits on our lives, but it also allows us to live it more fairly and honestly with those around us.

65. Poetry is what happens when nothing else happens.

This writer’s fondness for poetry was felt by him as a mutual love.

66. There’s a tile in my heart that wants out but I’m too strong for it. I tell him to stay there, because I won’t let anyone see him.

Bukowski’s inner world was certainly a chaos of emotions and feelings.

67. Those who escape from Hell never speak of it, and after they have escaped, there is nothing to disturb them afterwards.

The most difficult situations help us to improve as individuals and give us a greater understanding of society.

68. I felt like crying but the tears never came. It was that kind of sadness, sickly sadness, the kind you can’t feel worse about. I think everyone goes through it from time to time, but for me it’s too often, too often.

When sadness becomes chronic, that’s when we get into a real depression and coming out of it without help is much more complicated.

69. I love you as a man loves a woman he has never touched, about whom he writes only and of whom he keeps a photo.

Platonic love can be very intense for the lover, because our fantasies are always too idyllic.

70. I wanted the whole world or nothing.

There is a type of people who are exactly like that, all or nothing, Charles Bukowski was one of them.

71. You will be alone with the gods and the nights will burn with fire. Thou shalt ride through life into the perfect laughter. It’s the only fight worth having.

The search for happiness is something we all share in life, we want to be happy at all costs.

72. We’re all going to die. All of us, what a circus! That should make us love each other, but that doesn’t happen. We’re terrified of trivia. We let ourselves be eaten by nothing.

As this quote says, life is too short; we must love and respect our neighbor.

73. I’ve never been alone. I have been in a room, felt suicidal, felt depressed, felt bad, but I have never felt that anyone could come into the room and heal what was bothering me.

The mind can play very bad tricks on us, and it may not let us continue with our daily life when we are prisoners of a depression.

74. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, the state and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill in war.

The human being is the only animal that can not learn from a mistake made, we are obsessed with making the same mistakes.

75. “Do you hate people? “I don’t hate them, I just feel better when they’re not around.”

This quote reliably shows us the most antisocial personality of this poet.

76. Where have the hearings that were capable of choice and discrimination gone?

Audiences, like any kind of group of people, can be very manipulative.

77. Education was the new divinity, and educated men the new powerful landowners.

Education discriminates between what people should and should not know, just as the Inquisition did in the past.

78. The computer is my new dildo. My writing has doubled in power and performance since I got it.

The new technologies were well received by this writer, he knew how to take advantage of them.

79. Man’s greatest inventions are the bed and the atomic bomb: the first isolates you and the second helps you escape.

In this writer’s mind these two apparently so different objects had some aspect in common.

80. The definition of life: problems.

Everyone in life must go through trouble at some point, no one is immune to it.

81. If you are losing your soul and you know it, then you have another soul to lose.

The lack of hope in life can be something that leads us to negative thoughts, we must be positive and use our time productively.

82. That’s all a man needed: hope.

If we have hope in life, we will walk quietly on our way to personal success.

83. Play the violin. Belly dance. Plant tulips in the rain But don’t write poetry.

We must do that which fills us spiritually most, even if that is to make poetry.

84. A brave man is almost always a man without imagination.

Courage in many cases is simply not knowing what can happen to us.

85. This is also how the dictatorship works, only one enslaves and the other destroys its disinherited.

The society can be seen as a kind of dictatorship, because at the end of the day there is a ruling class that holds all the power.

86. Dogs have fleas, people have problems.

Problems are part of life and teach us to enjoy their absence.

87. It’s when you’re on the street that you realize everything has an owner.

In the capitalist society we live in, everything belongs to someone, and if it doesn’t, something is wrong.

88. And then, of course, there is the madness and terror of knowing that some part of you is like a clock that cannot be wound again, once it stops.

Life is ephemeral and has a definite duration, but no one knows how long one’s life will last.

89. It’s amazing what a man has to do just to be able to eat, sleep and dress.

Capitalism forces us to submit to it in order to survive; there is no other alternative at present.

90. There was a little music; life seemed a little more pleasant then, better.

Undoubtedly music can be very positive for living beings, there is a general belief that music tames the beasts.