Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. He is one of the best-known and most influential writers of the 20th century, known for his raw and honest style of writing that captured life in all its beauty and brutality. His works were often inspired by his own experiences as a struggling alcoholic living on the fringes of society.
Charles Bukowski Quotes
Charles Bukowski’s writing is filled with honest reflections of life, love, and loneliness. His words are full of insight, wisdom, and wit that speaks to the soul. Here are some of the most famous Charles Bukowski quotes that often reflect the struggles and joys of everyday life.
[Related: Charles Bukowski Poems]
“Find what you love and let it kill you.”
“You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.”
“The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it – basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.”
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”
“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
“I wanted the whole world or nothing.”
“Don’t be afraid to hit bottom. It’s a good place to rebuild from.”
“Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.”
“People with no morals often considered themselves more free, but mostly they lacked the ability to feel or love.”
“An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t.”
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.”
“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.”
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
“We don’t even ask for happiness. Just a little less pain”.
“The harder it gets, the more I’ll fight back, the more I will choose life”.
“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”
“Write about life. Don’t think about it. Just write what you see and feel and love and hate.”
“Sometimes an hour of despair can cause a lifetime of hope.”
“Sometimes you just have to lose yourself to find yourself again.”
“Don’t try. Just do.”
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
“The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it — basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.”
“The fact that I don’t say much doesn’t mean that I’m vacant. It means that I’m thinking.”
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t.”
“Creativity is the death of consciousness. It’s living without thinking.”
“You have to die a few times before you can really live.”
“We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that death will tremble to take us.”
“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
“When you drank the world was still out there, but for the moment it didn’t have you by the throat.”
“People with no morals often considered themselves more free, but mostly they lacked the ability to feel or love.”
“The problem was you had to keep choosing between one evil or another, and no matter what you chose, they sliced a little bit more out of your soul.”
“Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.”
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.”
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
“The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.”
“Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.”
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
“Life is always a balancing act, and it helps to stay focused on what really matters in life.”
“Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.”
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and let it come in.”
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”
“Life is beautiful, enjoy it while you can.”
“What ever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who will argue with you.”
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
“Don’t be afraid to take risks. Without them, life will be boring.”
“The point of life is to make an impact, not just an income.”
“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
“Life is like a roller coaster. You can either scream every time you hit a bump or you can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride.”
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
“Live life with no excuses and love with no regrets.”
“Make each day your masterpiece.”
“The best revenge is massive success.”
“Life has two rules: 1) Never quit. 2) Always remember Rule 1.”
“Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.”
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
“Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.”
“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.”
“The best things in life are free.”
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects.”
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
“Life is about creating yourself and living your dreams, not settling for what life gives you.”
“If you want to live a fulfilled life, start by believing in yourself and never stop learning.”
