if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.
don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.
when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.
there is no other way.
and there never was.
Our thoughts:
This poem doesn't just speak about writing but about anything you pursue in your lifetime. If you don't have the drive and compassion to do something then don't do it. When you go out into the world put everything you have into the task. Always put 100% effort into everything you do; never do anything in life because you have to, do it because you want too! In one stanza the author says "the libraries of the world have yawned themselves to sleep over your kind." The author implies that people are always trying to be someone else, not just in writing but in life too. Don't be like everybody else. Make a name for yourself and be unique, something this generation is lacking. The author also suggests that everyone should have confidence in what they have done and accomplished. If you have to ask someone if you look good or this sentence sounds alright, your not to be a writer or an adult for that matter. To succeed as a writer and as a person in the world, have confidence in what you do, be unique, and always give your all. Following these guidelines will make you a successful person and author according to Charles Bukowski. -Andy Bishop
In this poem, the author repeats the phrase "don't do it" to make it predictable for the readers as they read through the poem. The readers can tell when this phrase will come up because the author created a pattern of "If A, then B," A being the reasons to write or the outcomes of writing and B being the phrase "don't do it." Then about two-thirds of the way down, the author breaks the pattern. This catches the readers attention because there is a sudden change in the way that the poem flows. Then it goes back to the original pattern after two stanzas. The last portion of the poem finally tells the readers when it is appropriate to write. -Rachel Fatica
This poem is a very romanticized declaration and guidelines about how to be a proper writer. Bukowski is not only giving guidelines on writing, but guidelines on life too. If it doesn’t come easy or it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. He continues the poem with these sorts of proclamations about writing and life in general. It is very sugar coated however and suggests that writing and life is going to be easy, when that is not always the case. He has many good points, however, because when writing, if it is forced, it will never be as good as of words that flow easily and freely. Overall, his advice is sound, but at times can be taken as overly simplistic. -Alex Lewis
