Ross Runfola collection on Charles Bukowski
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the collection, originally part of a larger private collection assembled by Ross Runfola, is comprised of typescript signed poems by Charles Bukowski; some are photocopies of typescripts or computer printed pages but are signed in ink. The collection also includes a painting by Charles Bukowski, a painting and screen print by Jack Micheline, two Black Sparrow Press broadsides of poems by Bukowski, posters advertising readings by Bukowski, a dubbed copy of documentary The Best Hotel on Skid Row, and a small file of correspondence from Bukowski to various recipients.
Dates
- 1966-2004, undated
- Majority of material found within 1966-1993
Creator
- Micheline, Jack (Person)
- Runfola, Ross (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Language of Materials
Collection material in English.
Terms of Access and Use
The Ross Runfola collection on Charles Bukowski, 1966-2004, undated (1966-1993 bulk) is open for research.
Copyright
Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Poetry Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.
Historical Note
Charles Bukowski was a prolific underground writer and, for many people, a cult hero. He used direct language and often violent and sexual imagery. While some critics found his style offensive, others claimed that he satirized the machismo attitude through his routine use of sex, alcohol abuse, and violence. Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany, in 1920, the only child of an American soldier and a German mother. At the age of three, he came with his family to the United States and grew up in Los Angeles. He published his first story, "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip," in Story Magazine in 1944, going on to publish more than forty books of poetry and prose. He died in 1994.
Ross Runfola earned his B.A., M.A., Ph.D., and J.D. degrees from the University at Buffalo. His poems have been published in Six-Pack (Bottle of Smoke Press), the Bukowski Review, and X-Ray Press. He is the author of several books of poetry and is a founding member of the Guerrilla Poetics Project. He is a practicing attorney as well as a professor of Applied and Social Sciences at Medaille College.
Extent
5 Linear Feet (2 manuscript box, 7 oversize boxes (framed visual materials), 2 items in map case)
7 VHS cassette
Abstract
The bulk of the collection is comprised of typescript signed poems by Charles Bukowski; some are photocopies of typescripts or computer-printed pages but are signed in ink. The collection also includes a painting by Charles Bukowski, a painting and screen print by Jack Micheline, two Black Sparrow Press broadsides of poems by Bukowski, posters advertising readings by Bukowski, a dubbed copy of documentary The Best Hotel on Skid Row, and a small file of correspondence from Bukowski to various recipients. The materials in this collection, part of a larger private collection assembled by Ross Runfola, were donated by Runfola and were originally part of an auction by PBA Galleries in 2011.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in three series.
- Manuscripts, 1971-1996, undated
- Visual Material, 1966-2004
- Correspondence, 1966-1978, undated
Acquisition Information
The materials in this collection were donated by Ross Runfola. They were originally part of an auction, sale no. 455, "Charles Bukowski and His Circle: The Collection of Ross Runfola," by PBA Galleries (San Francisco) in 2011. More details about these items can be found in the auction catalog. See Associated Material for more information.
Accruals and Additions
No further accruals are expected for this collection.
Separated Materials
Several journals were removed and added to the Poetry Collection's periodical collection: Blow (issues 5, 6, and 8), Bottle (issues 3 and 4), Going Modern / Oro Madre No. 10, Epos (issue 5, aka "Poems and Drawings"), Olé (issues 3-8, plus 1967 Anthology), X-Ray magazine (issue 7), Story (vol. 24, no. 106 (March-April 1944)), Lummox Journal (vol. 6, no. 8), the Bukowski Review (issues 1-4), and Wormwood Review (issues 7-8, 11, 16, 24, 33, 38-40, 81-82, 94-95, 110-111, 122-123, 125, 127, 137, 145-146).
Many books were removed and added to the Poetry Collection's monograph collection: Search "Ross Runfola Charles Bukowski Collection" for a list of these items.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Marie Elia, Processing Archivist, 2014.
Source
- The Poetry Collection (Repository, Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for the Ross Runfola collection on Charles Bukowski, 1966-2004, undated (1966-1993 bulk) PCMS-0053
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Marie Elia.
- Date
- 2014
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared Using Local Best Practices
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the The Poetry Collection Repository
420 Capen Hall
Buffalo New York 14260-1674 US
716-645-2917
716-645-3714 (Fax)
lpo-poetry@buffalo.edu