Charles Bukowski Linda King PURR No. 5 1976 Inscribed Association Copy

Description

By 1976, Linda King and Charles Bukowski had become one of the most notorious couples in the Los Angeles literary underground. Their turbulent romance produced books, poems, drawings, sculpture, photographs, public fights, and a mountain of correspondence that continues to fascinate collectors. PURR was King’s own literary magazine, this issued being produced from her Phoenix address and filled with contributions from friends, poets, artists, and fellow travelers moving through the small press world of the 1970s.

Bukowski appears here with multiple poems, including the wonderfully autobiographical “Note for Linda,” while King contributes poems of her own that provide a rare glimpse into the emotional and artistic dialogue between the two. The magazine is exactly the sort of ephemeral publication that was often read, traded, and discarded, making surviving copies increasingly difficult to locate. What elevates this copy is Linda King’s contemporary inscription: “Erotica in the 70’s this is proof.” It’s a perfect period remark from one of Bukowski’s closest collaborators and lovers, turning an already desirable little magazine into a genuine association copy with direct provenance to the Bukowski circle.

A terrific piece of West Coast small press history.