Bukowski collection at UB looks at poet's early years

Hard-living poet Charles Bukowski, once described by Time magazine as the “laureate of American lowlife,” is known for writing about alcohol, turbulent relationships and the slums of Los Angeles.

Yet Bukowski, born 93 years ago tomorrow (Aug. 16, 1920), didn’t look much like an anti-hero during high school.

Photos from a classmate’s yearbook on display in UB’s prized Poetry Collection show him clean-shaven, wearing a jacket and tie, and, perhaps more surprising, as an ROTC sergeant. The man who would be portrayed on film by Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon professed a fondness for fishing and noted his plan to attend Los Angeles City College.

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