“Bukowski Reads His Poetry” City Lights Poets Theater: San Francisco, September 14, 1972

This is a recording of the live reading at the City Lights Poets Theatre on September 14, 1972, which took place in San Francisco.

It was released by Takoma records in 1980 and they continue to make new variations on their LP, with vinyl colors such as “Ashtray” and “Vomit”.

The track list on this CD is a portion of the poems read that day. “Poems and Insults” includes all of the poems recorded.

The case of this copy has two cracks and many scratches. The CD itself looks pretty clean. The packaging has the same wear as most CDs, with wrinkles from removing it from the case and edgewear.

Note: Should any used CD recording have issues while playing, I will refund your money and you can keep the CD.

Denny Bruce, the original drummer for The Mothers of Invention, was co-owner of Takoma Records. The independent label specialized in roots music when Denny decided to put out “Bukowski Reads His Poetry” in 1980.

To promote the record, Denny arranged for a reading in Redondo Beach, California, at the Sweetwater Café. No one knew it at the time, maybe not even Bukowski himself, but this would be his final public reading. It took place on March 31, 1980, and was recorded in both audio and video. Rhino Records released the audio recording under the name “Hostage” in 1985. The video, named “One Tough Mother”, was released in 2010.

The poems on this recording include: