All the Assholes in the World and Mine with Book Announcement (1966)

This is a copy of the 1966 Bukowski chapbook All the Assholes in the World and Mine, which has been more uncommon to find over the past few years. It comes with an announcement for the book from Open Skull Press.

This was Bukowski’s second book of prose and also features the second appearance of Bukowski’s classic underdog, Henry Chinaski, perhaps best known as the main character in the film Barfly.

The chapbook is a humorous 28-page recounting of Bukowski’s hemorrhoid operation. The condition had caused him pain and bleeding over several years and resulted in many sick days at the Post Office. It was Bukowski’s second stay in the hospital, following stomach ulcers that nearly killed him years earlier.

The chapbook’s announcement, which was distributed through Ole 4, with the title “THE ANAL UNDERGROUND”. Most announcement is a rundown of Bukowski “misadventures” told in “CONFESSIONS OF A MAN INSANE ENOUGH TO LIVE WITH BEASTS”, the previous book of Bukowski prose published by Open Skull. Blazek describes the new book as “just as raucous, just as bitter, just as penetrating as CONFESSIONS”.

Beyond the two books of Bukowski prose, Blazek was an accomplished poet and the publisher of OLE magazine. Eight issues of OLE were produced between 1964 and 1967, and in a way it started where the Outsider left off, in terms of giving exposure to underground poets. Even if the magazine was primitively produced on mimeo, the quality of the writing itself set a standard for the period, rivaling only Marvin Malone’s Wormwood Review.

Blazek and Bukowski considered themselves friends and had a lengthy correspondence between 1964 to 1968. But as with other poets and editors, the relationship ended abruptly after their first meeting in person. As with Jon Webb, both can be blamed for the fall out.

This copy looks like an early one off the press because the brown color of the cover is rich, not the more pale tone that I’ve seen in some copies. Unfortunately, it appears that someone may have left a light partial footprint on the bottom 3 inches of the cover along the spine. The staples are also oxidized and there a few tiny spots here and there. I’ve seen several copies of this chapbook and would grade it Near Fine-minus compared to other more pristine copies.

The flyer, measuring 8” x 11”, was folded for insertion into OLE 4 and there is a small tear on the right side of it. The corners are sharp, with only a tiny bump on the lower right. There is also toning around the edges on both sides of the sheet.

Case 6