Writer Charles Bukowski is known for his dark, gritty and often humorous works. He wrote over seventy-five novels, hundreds of short stories, thousands of poems, and several plays. 



His first novel was published in 1963 when he was forty-one years old. He wrote consistently for the next thirty years until his death at age seventy-three in 1994 from liver cancer.



While he has a big fan following, he also has his fair share of critics. Even though many people find his work interesting and insightful, a few others believe that his writing style is not agreeable because it does not offer any hope. 



However, if you can look beyond the negativity in his work and take a different perspective towards his words, you will realize how deep they are. Here is a collection of top 10 Charles Bukowski quotes that will make you think deeply. Additionally, I have added some of my own interpretations of those quotes.


1. An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.



Charles Bukowski quotes about life



Intellectuals are thoughtful people who want to make sense of the world. Artists are emotional people who want to create beauty in the world. 



Intellectuals are hard on themselves, and they see their work as a reflection of their own intelligence. Creatives are easy on themselves, and they see their work as a reflection of their own passion for what they're doing. Artists are able to express complex emotions in a simple way through art.



2. Find what you love and let it kill you.



Charles Bukowski quotes on passion



Once you find out what your passion is, go for it. Loose yourself into it. Passion will be the reason for you to wake up in morning.



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



I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them. Once it happens to you, you’re forced to ask why it happened, and you're compelled to do something about it. That’s part of the reason. It’s harder to answer that question when it hasn’t happened to you.



4. Anything is a waste of time unless you are f**king well or creating well or getting well or looming toward a kind of phantom-love-happiness.



Anything you do in life is a waste of time unless it is used to make something great or to be great, yourself.



 

5. Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.



Charles Bukowski Quotes



Most of you may misinterpret this quote. Charles Bukowski is not saying you to be mentally ill; 



Sometimes people make bad choices and suffer the consequences of those bad choices. When we don’t experiment and explore, we never experience these consequences and we never recover from bad choices. 



Some people never go crazy. What horrible lives they must live. Imagine doing the same thing everyday, year after year and not experiencing different emotions. I urge you to experiment and explore. When we experiment we grow and we evolve.



6. I don’t like the clean-shaven boy with the necktie and the good job. I like desperate men, men with broken teeth and broken minds and broken ways. They interest me. They are full of surprises and explosions.



Those who never go all the way, those who stop moving when face failure and find something secure but less valuable like getting a job. I can give you a example of Indian students. Here 3,700 P.H.D. holders apply for peons job to get a secure, 'Risk-Free' government job, but they will never try tings on their own. These type of people just blame others.



You need to take control of your life. You need to live to the fullest. Try different things, take risks. Fail in them. Stand up again. Try another thing. Because when you try different things and face failures, you get experiences. You'll have a miserable outlook; But from within you will be fulfilled. Because at the end you'll achieve what you want. 



7. Beware of those who seek constant crowds; they are nothing alone.





A lot of people don't know how to stand on their own, to be alone. They feel like they need to be connected to something in order to feel fulfilled. 



But beware the people who seek the constant crowds. They are nothing alone. To be alone is to cherish oneself. In the end, there is no me without myself. I must be who I am. I must do what I would do if I were by myself. I must project my own world. I must realize my potential. You can relate this with 'Batman Begins' Quote - "It's not who I am underneath, it's what I do that defines me."



8. He asked, What makes a man a writer? Well, I said, it's simple. You either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge.





Well this is what you call passion. If you read the quotes of Hans Zimmer, Paulo Coelho, they all said the same thing, that passion makes a person stop eating, sleeping, working, feeling at peace. A lot of people are frightened because, when it appears, it demolishes all the old things it finds in its path.



9. When things get bad enough, the kitten will kill the lion.





At the point when things get adequately awful, the little cat will literally kill the lion. 



Have you ever felt guilty or ashamed of yourself in a moment in your life where you hated yourself not for something you did but for not doing anything? 



An area that just wasn’t good enough? Whether it’s your health, your relationships, your finances, or just generally life, have you ever felt that absolute conflict of being ashamed of who you are? When you are so disgusted with yourself that change is necessary.



When frustration in life cross your patience, you start to taking hard steps, you feel nothing is impossible, you give your 110% when you just cannot live in that moment anymore, when you wanna change your life. And you cannot understand this quote unless you are running towards you goal.



10. Life’s as kind as you let it be.


It’s easy to lose hope, to stop fighting, to give up. Sometimes it can feel like your world is crashing down on you, but the only thing you can do is keep fighting. Life is as kind as you let it be. 


Conclusion: 


Many of these quotes can be applied to various aspects of life, and will provide you with the wisdom you need to succeed. Share your favorite quote from this collection in your social media pages and if you can interpret any of these quotes from a different angle then let me know in the comment section below!