The Naked Ear -- Eighth Appearance of Charles Bukowski (1956)

Published in 1956, Naked Ear No. 9, features Bukowski’s eighth appearance in any journal or magazine. 

This appearance predates HARLEQUIN, Vol. 1, No. 1, which was edited by Bukowski’s future wife, Barbara Frye.

It features the poem Layover (not Lay Over as it was titled here) that would appear in six Bukowski books, including Cold Dogs in the Courtyard (1965), A Bukowski Sampler (1969), The Roominghouse Madrigals (1988), Run With the Hunted (1993), On Love (2016), and Essential Bukowski: Poetry (2016).

Even though it was his first appearance in five years, Bukowski was very upset that Crews had changed the title of the poem from Layover to Lay Over.

Naked Ear was produced by Judson Crews, a former educator and who opened the Motive Bookshop in Waco, Texas, but moved it to Taos, New Mexico, in 1947. Among the other chapbooks and periodicals he edited, his Motive Press produced 11 issues of The Naked Ear. In a 1961 letter to writer Sheri Martinelli, Bukowski wrote: 

“…the changing of Layover to Lay Over violates the essence of the
poem? By Layover, I meant getting out of the stream of dead life. But my editor
friend seemed to think it was just a lay that was over…”

This issue of The Naked Ear is quite small in size, measuring just 4” x 5.5”. The copy offered here is in Very Good + condition. The issue as a whole is very solid, but there is a large stain on the rear cover that impacts the page beneath it. There’s also some general overall wear, but the binding is solid and it’s remarkable that any copies of this rare journal are still around.

File Box 3