Charles Bukowski, Ham On Rye Quotes

I didn't know if I was unhappy. I felt too miserable to be unhappy.

What a weary time those years were -- to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.

I had noticed that both in the very poor and very rich extremes of society the mad were often allowed to mingle freely.

First paycheck I get, I thought, I'm going to get myself a room near the downtown L.A. Public Library.

I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone, I felt best being alone, cleaner, , ,

Anything, anything to stop drowning in this dull, trivial and cowardly existence.

When I get down to my last dime I'll just walk over to skid row.""There are some real weirdos down there.""They're everywhere.

since some people had told me that I was ugly, I always preferred shade to the sun, darkness to light

I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them.

If you can hit a guy once, you can hit him twice.

I often stood in front of the mirror alone, wondering how ugly a person could get.

I had also read somewhere that if a man didn't truly believe or understand what he was espousing, somehow he could do a more convincing job