Crucifix in a Deathhand
The collection before it — the last of the hand-made Loujon books.
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At Terror Street and Agony Way
The first Bukowski book from Black Sparrow Press — 45 poems, 800 paperbound copies, and the start of the partnership of his life.
- 1968
About Charles Bukowski
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeAt Terror Street and Agony Way, published in 1968, is a collection of 45 Charles Bukowski poems and the first of his books from Black Sparrow Press — the small Los Angeles publisher John Martin had founded partly on the conviction that Bukowski was an important American writer. The first printing was modest: 800 paperbound copies alongside 75 hardbound. What it began was not modest at all. Black Sparrow published Bukowski for the rest of his life, from Post Office in 1971 to the posthumous collections, and this thin book of poems is where the partnership starts. It has never been reprinted on its own; its poems are read today through the selected volume Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame.
The story, in more detail
John Martin had discovered Bukowski's poems in little magazines, begun corresponding with him in 1965, and sold his own rare-book collection to the University of California, Santa Barbara to fund a press. At Terror Street and Agony Way is the book that turned that plan into a publishing relationship. The earliest copies carry a small famous flaw: the cover text was printed with "Sreet" for "Street", caught after binding had begun, and corrected with a sticker — a collector's point ever since. The poems themselves are the Bukowski of the late post-office years: rented rooms, bad jobs, and the city, written flat and close to the bone.
Themes and analysis
The bottle upright
“Beerbottle” turns a small accident into an argument about reading one's luck. The bottle survives its fall, while damaged possessions interrupt the speaker's delight. His explanation expands into a world whose unequal outcomes cannot be accounted for. Yet he returns to the bottle as a hopeful sign, despite having denied that such forces can be understood. The final wish for improved circumstances and further poems leaves that contradiction intact. Optimism becomes a provisional way to continue, not a law the accident has proved.
The child at the coast
“I Met a Genius” gives authority to someone the adult speaker might ordinarily be expected to instruct. The child's age follows the extravagant announcement of genius, briefly unsettling expectations about who deserves that description. What earns it is an unexpected judgment about the ocean, not a demonstration of learning. The closing response records the adult's changed perception without an elaborate description of the scenery to settle the matter. The encounter interrupts habitual seeing; it does not establish that one person's taste must govern everyone else's.
Why we recommend it
Where Black Sparrow begins
The first book of the press that published Bukowski for life — the origin point of the whole familiar shelf.
The late post-office poems
45 poems from the years just before Post Office, when the voice of the novels was forming line by line.
A focused early collection
The forty-five poems provide a manageable view of Bukowski before the novels brought a larger readership.
What this book explores
Timeline
1965
John Martin discovers Bukowski's poems in little magazines and begins corresponding with him.
1968
Black Sparrow Press publishes the collection — its first Bukowski book — in 800 paperbound and 75 hardbound copies.
1974
A selection of the poems returns to print in Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame.
Book editions
Paperback
- Paperback
- Black Sparrow Press
- 1968
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills
The next Black Sparrow collection, a year later and still in print.
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Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame
The in-print selected volume that reprints poems from this collection.
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Post Office
The novel that followed three years later, once John Martin's monthly stipend freed Bukowski from the post office.
Read our takeAt Terror Street and Agony Way: frequently asked questions
What is At Terror Street and Agony Way?
A 1968 collection of 45 Charles Bukowski poems, and the first of his books published by John Martin's Black Sparrow Press.
Why does the book matter in Bukowski's career?
It began the Black Sparrow partnership. Martin went on to publish Post Office in 1971 and nearly everything after it; the relationship lasted until Bukowski's death in 1994.
How many copies were printed?
800 paperbound copies and 75 hardbound — a small printing for a fledgling press that was still being run alongside its founder's day job.
What is the "Sreet" misprint?
The earliest covers were printed with "Sreet" instead of "Street". The error was caught after binding had begun and corrected with a sticker, so uncorrected copies are scarce and collected.
Can I read the poems without buying the rare edition?
Yes. Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame, the selected volume covering 1955 to 1973, includes a section drawn from this collection and remains in print.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document At Terror Street and Agony Way, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1At Terror Street and Agony Way
PoetryCharles Bukowski, 1968Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Charles Bukowski timeline (bukowski.net)
WebsiteUsed forPublication year, print run, the misprint, and the book's place in the chronology.
3Charles Bukowski: books and chapbooks (Verdant Press checklist)
WebsiteUsed forBibliographic details of the first edition checked against the checklist.
4Charles Bukowski
BiographyReaktion Books, 2012Used forThe Martin correspondence and the founding of Black Sparrow Press.
5Charles Bukowski (Poetry Foundation)
WebsiteUsed forCareer arc from the little magazines into the Black Sparrow years.
6Beerbottle and I Met a Genius — later collected-text transcriptions
WebsiteBlack Sparrow Press text transcribed on ZanotowaneUsed forComplete later transcriptions of the two illustrated poems; not a 1968 facsimile or independently verified autobiography.
7At Terror Street and Agony Way — specialist collection contents
WebsiteBukowski.netUsed forSpecialist contents confirm Beerbottle and I Met a Genius on pages 5 and 49. Approximate composition dates are not adopted.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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