So You Want to Be a Writer?

The idea of refusal dominates Charles Bukowski’s poem "so you want to be a writer?” Bukowski tells the addressee to refuse to write if they lack the applicable traits. At the same time, he presents the true writer as unable to refuse the gift of writing. If the chosen writer attempts to refuse, they’ll wind up pushed into "madness or / suicide or murder” (Lines 52-53). The consequences for the fake writer who refuses to give up writing are not as stark, but they are unfavorable. The fake writer refusing to recognize they haven’t been chosen must carry the shame of adding to the list of "dull and boring” (Line 40) authors in the world.

In the final two stanzas, Bukowski positions his thoughts on writing as irrefutable. He says, "there is no other way” (Line 63), then adds, "and there never was” (Line 64). The reader is not to question Bukowski or dispute his account. What Bukowski has provided isn’t up for debate. His words are absolute and can’t be refuted.

"so you want to be a writer?” offers specific labels to symbolize the unappealing. In Stanza 3, Charles Bukowski presents several labels. Wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, parents—these are particular labels. They’re names and roles conferred on people. In Bukowski’s poem, if someone has to read their work to people who fall under these categories or to people who fall under any category at all, they know that they’re not prepared to be a writer.

The label “writer” itself is loaded with inimical symbolism. “don't be like so many writers,” warns Bukowski (Line 37). Writers represent the countless people churning out unexciting, self-aggrandizing, and "pretentious” (Line 41) books. When it comes to real writing and genuine writers, Bukowski doesn’t affix a label to either. Bukowski refers to the gift of writing as "it.” Since "it” is not a specific label, "it” can’t symbolize something specifically pernicious.