Amphora No. 8 — Harold Norse Interview + Bukowski Poems

Description

Amphora No. 8, published by Thorp Springs Press in Berkeley, captures the raw, unfiltered spirit of the small press literary scene of the 1970s. This issue features an excellent and somewhat lengthy interview (for a little) with Harold Norse—expatriate, beat affiliate, and author of the memoir Memoirs of a Bastard Angel. Norse’s voice was crucial in chronicling gay experience, outsider vision, and the unvarnished reality of postwar bohemia. The production is intimate and lo-fi, reflecting the DIY ethos of the mimeo revolution.

Adding to this issue is the inclusion of six poems by Charles Bukowski, two of which are really good: “Louis-Ferdinand Destouches” and “Death.” These poems, saturated with Bukowski’s trademark blend of grim humor, casual brutality, and outsider lyricism, sit alongside work by Ferlinghetti, Andrei Codrescu and other fringe luminaries.

For collectors of Bukowski, Norse, little mags, post-beat and underground poetry, Amphora offers a window into a literary world that was raw, unfiltered, and wholly uncommercial.