Signed and Inscribed by Charles Bukowski to Doug Blazek: The Curtains Are Waving and People Walk Through the Afternoon Here and in Berlin and in New York City and in Mexico (1967)

This is an inscribed copy of The Curtains Are Waving and People Walk Through the Afternoon Here and in Berlin and in New York City and in Mexico.

Bukowski inscribed this copy to Doug Blazek, the editor of the legendary OLE magazine and the publisher of Bukowski’s first two books of prose, Confessions of a Man Insane Enough to Live with Beasts and All the Assholes in the World and Mine.

Bukowski has also signed his name to the colophon page.

It’s also signed on the colophon and hand-numbered 50 out of 122 numbered copies.

Bukowski and Blazek considered themselves friends and had a lengthy correspondence between 1964 to 1968. But as with several other writers and editors, the relationship ended abruptly after they first met in person. The inscription indicates the fallout had already begun:

Blazek published eight issues of OLE, all of which featured Bukowski. In a way, OLE 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.

While the cover for this chapbook is striking, it was printed on elegant, but thin paper. There is noticeable rippling on the bottom edge, a light, very minor crease on the top right front oversize cover, and tiny bumps on the remaining covers. There’s also a light spot on the rear cover that is more visible on the last white blank page. It doesn’t impact the colophon page. I’m going to be conservative and rate it Near Fine-minus.

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