I’ll admit, I’ve never read a single book from Bukowski, and I’ve never intentionally sought him out nor have I ever considered buying a single piece of literature from him. But after watching this fascinating documentary, I may think twice. Bukowski has become the martyr upon which many aspiring writers look to, particularly the struggling ones, because Bukowski himself was a struggling writer.

He was a writer who was never thought of by mainstream writing circuits as good enough. But he showed them, and garnered a massive following of readers who just couldn’t get enough of his literature and poetry. Bukowski’s poetry, upon hearing him read it to his salivating public, is quite insightful, and the man really just pours irony and poetry when he speaks. It’s almost amazing to see him spout insightful one-liners in casual conversations. “No one ever realizes they’re a writer,” he explains,

“They only think they’re a writer”, and Bukowski gave the mainstream circuits something to kick themselves about. His rejections, his poverty, and his purely awful childhood eventually came around to his amazing career in the literary world where he managed to attain immortality through much of his novels. “Born into This”, also one of his great poems, discusses Bukowski’s life through interviews, interviews with his friends and celebrity admirers, footage of his readings, and rare anecdotes in which he never tries to arrogantly dissect his own work, nor does he ever really talk about his novels, but discusses his childhood and experiences with people that helped and or hurt him.

The interviewers often have to force Bukowski to discuss his work, and when he manages to discuss what he’s written he seems very reluctant. But through his interviews we gain a sense of both the artist, and the man. The man who was never much of a great father, and whose woes with women were endless. “Born into This” sheds light on much of Bukowski’s life and little tidbits such as Bukowski’s long tenure at a post office, his venture into chapbooks, and his utter hatred for everything and anything Mickey Mouse. “Born Into This” is a wonderful, and engrossing chronicle of one of the best writers of all time.

Dullaghan's study of one of the best writers of our time is both intimate, in-depth, and bittersweet as we witness Bukowski warts and all in his worst, in his best, and at his most violent--and we still love him for it. Bukowski was human, he was real, and he was brilliant.

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