''Post Office'' is the first novel written by the German-American author

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

, published in 1971. The book is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

memoir of Bukowski's years working at the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

. The film rights to the novel were sold in the early 1970s, but a film has not been made thus far.

Plot

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, down-and-out barfly

Henry Chinaski Henry Charles "Hank" Chinaski is the literary alter ego of the American writer Charles Bukowski, appearing in five of Bukowski's novels, a number of his short stories and poems, and the films ''Barfly (film), Barfly'' and Factotum (film), ''Factot ...

becomes a substitute

mail carrier A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

; he quits for a while and lives on his winnings at the race track, then becomes a mail clerk. Chinaski drifts from place to place, surviving through booze and women, with his biting sense of humor and a cynical view of the world.

Writing and publication

An autobiographical account of Bukowski's years working as a carrier and sorter for the

,Kyle Ryan
"Post Office by Charles Bukowski,"
''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', August 16, 2011. the novel is "dedicated to nobody". ''Post Office'' introduces Bukowski's autobiographical

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

, 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.William Booth
"Charles Bukowski, Bard of Booze,"
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', July 6, 2004. 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 died in January 1962. 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 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. In December 1969, John Martin founded

Black Sparrow Press Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry. History Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...

in order to publish Bukowski's writing, offering him $100 per month for life on condition that Bukowski would quit working for the post office and write full-time for Black Sparrow.Jonathan Smith
"'I Never Saw Him Drunk': An Interview With Bukowski's Longtime Publisher,"
''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'', June 20, 2014. Bukowski agreed; three weeks later, he had written ''Post Office''.Lori Moody
"Charles Bukowski Leaves A Controversial Legacy,"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', March 16, 1994.

Film adaptation

The film rights to ''Post Office'' were sold to

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to direct ...

in the early 1970s, but a film version of the novel has yet to be made. Hackford did direct a 1973 documentary about Bukowski, titled '' Bukowski''.

References

External links

''Post Office'' quotes
{{Charles Bukowski 1971 American novels Novels by Charles Bukowski American autobiographical novels Novels set in Los Angeles 1971 debut novels Novels about the United States Postal Service