Story Magazine March-April 1944: The First Literary Appearance by Charles Bukowski

This was Marvin Malone’s personal copy of Story Magazine issue Vol. XXIV, No. 106 (March-April 1944).

The issue featured “Aftermath of a Rejection Slip”,Charles Bukowski’s first fictional appearance in a literary magazine.

Although Bukowski was disappointed that the story was placed in the End Pages section, the story actually appears on page 2, opposite the masthead.

This copy is in Near Fine-minus condition with a bit of sunning and wear to the front and back covers.

Whit Burnett (August 14, 1899 – April 22, 1973) was an American writer and writing teacher who founded and edited the literary magazine Story. In the 1940s, Story was an important magazine in that it published the first or early works of many writers who went on to become major authors. Not only did Burnett prove to be a valuable literary birddog for new talent, but Story remained a respectable though low-paying (typically $25 per story) alternative for stories rejected by the large-circulation slick magazines published on glossy paper like Collier's or The Saturday Evening Post or the somewhat more prestigious and literary slick magazines such as The New Yorker. While Story paid poorly compared to the slicks and even the pulps and successor digest-sized magazines of its day, it paid better than most of, and had similar cachet to, the university-based and the other independent "little magazines" of its era.1. Printed wraps, 9 1/4 x 6 7/8 inches. Very good --- near fine (mild edgewear; mild sunning, spine; binding tight and pages clean). From Beat Scene/Transit Magazine interview by Kevin Ring (1994): Ring: "Can you recall the first thing you had published and how you felt about it?" Bukowski: "No, I can't recall. Can remember my first major publication, a short story in Whit Burnett's and Martha Foley's Story magazine, 1944. I had been sending them a couple of short stories a week for maybe a year and a half. The story they finally accepted was mild in comparison to the others. I mean in terms of content and style and gamble and exploration and all that. 

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