The Life and Times of Charles BukowskiOne night in Andernach, West Germany, a US Army sergeant serving in Germany crossed paths of a woman after Germany's defeat in World War I. He had an affair with her, Katharina, who was the sister of a German friend, and she became pregnant. A month before the baby was born, they got married. On August 16, 1920, the baby boy was born and was named Heinrich Karl Bukowski, but we know him simply as Charles Bukowski. He would go on to become one of the country’s most acclaimed poets to this day. (Miles). By 1930, Bukowski's family had settled in South Central Los Angeles, where his father and grandfather had previously worked and lived, but by the 1930s Bukowski's father was often unemployed. During Bukowski's early childhood, he was shy and antisocial and constantly ridiculed at school for his German accent, his clothes, and as a teenager for his severe case of acne; although he was praised for his artistic work by his teachers, he suffered from dyslexia. Unfortunately, his home life wasn't great either. In his autobiography, Ham on Rye, Bukowski conveys to the reader that he was repeatedly physically and mentally abused by his father, beating him for the slightest offense imaginable, while his mother stood by his side, watched and agreed with his father. (Miles). In 2003, Bukowski had released a film, Bukowski - Born Into This, and in the film he states that his father beat him with a razor three times a week among teenagers aged 6 to 11. and terrifying to believe, he thanks his father for doing this by stating that it helped him with his writing. He claimed it helped him understand what was wrong... in the middle of an article... along the way. Works cited by Bukowski, Charles and John Martin. Run with the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1993. Print. Bukowski, Charles. Ham on rye: a novel. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1982. “Charles Bukowski” print. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2010. Web. May 20, 2014. “Living on Luck: Selected Letters from the 1960s to 1970s'2 Vol. 2. » Letter. 49. PrintMiles, Barry. Charles Bukowski. London: Virgin, 2009. Print. Sounes, Howard. Charles Bukowski: Locked in the arms of a crazy life. New York: Grove, 1998. Print. Verrier, Richard. "'Bukowski' plays role in modest increase in local film production." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2013. Web. May 21, 2014. Wills, D. “Saving Bukowski’s Bungalow.” Beatdom. Mauling Press: Dundee, 2008. web. May 21, 2014.Google Docs: create and edit documents online.