Charles Bukowski was an outcast poet

It is the birthday of cynical outcast writer Charles Bukowski (1920), who was once called a "laureate of American lowlife" by Time magazine. Scholars consider him the godfather of the "dirty realism" literary movement that emphasizes the seamy side of ordinary life. One of its leading practitioners is Cormac McCarthy. Bukowski wrote six novels, seven non-fiction books, at least 11 short story collections, and more than 40 poetry collections. Bukowski wrote the screenplay for the 1987 film Barfly, which starred Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. Over the years, numerous documentaries have been made about Bukowski. Here is one of the best known, Bukowski: Born into This (2003).