Voice of Skid Row, July 12, 2001Matthew P. Arsenault Amazon
   
Bukowski captures the essence of skid row. He is the voice of those who have given up on society, and maybe on themselves. This is an intersting take. These forgoton masses are usually kept silent, and often oppressed by labels...drunk, bum, trash. But through his writing, Bukowski has shown that these people which society deems worthless, are actually people with souls, hopes, and dreams. These hopes and dreams may not always be within the mores of society, but they are hopes and dreams nontheless. Bukowski brought a picture of those select people out of the gutter, and into the minds of main stream society.