“The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles."—Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author“He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”—Leonard Cohen, songwriterSeptuagenarian Stew is a combination of poetry and stories written by Charles Bukowski that delve into the lives of different people on the backstreets of Los Angeles. He writes of the housewife, the bum, the gambler and the celebrity to evoke a portrait of Los Angeles.This is Bukowski uncorked—a raw stew of life from the gutter, served straight up: Dirty Realism: Stories of housewives, bums, gamblers, and hustlers, all told with the unflinching honesty that made Bukowski a legend. Los Angeles Fiction: A portrait of the city’s forgotten backstreets, cheap bars, and flophouse hotels, far from the Hollywood glamour. Stories of Drinking and Gambling: Tales from the bottom of a bottle and the losing end of a trifecta, where the only thing left to do is laugh at the odds. Raw and Poetic Voice: The masterful blend of gritty, conversational prose and sudden, gut-punching poetry that defined a generation of underground literature.