19 pages • 38 minutes read
So You Want to Be a Writer?
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Literary Devices
Form and Meter
"so you want to be a writer?” is an example of free verse poetry. The poem features no rhyme scheme, and the lines have varied syllabic counts. Some lines contain over 10 syllables, while others have only one. The unstable form matches the volatile life of the true writer. The real writer is the result of an unpredictable force, and the poem's form is similarly capricious. Bukowski is free to determine the line length, the stanza length, and to disregard meter.
Bukowski’s rejection of a prescribed form or meter is also seen in the poem’s grammar. In American English, the first letter of a sentence is supposed to be capitalized. In Bukowski’s poem, the first letter of a sentence stays lowercase. There are no uppercase words in the poem. Like the Modernist American poet E. E. Cummings, Bukowski arranges and stylizes his poem according to his own rules.
Repetition
The repetition of specific words and phrases contrasts with the temperamental form. The line breaks and stanza lengths are unpredictable, yet readers expect to see certain words throughout the poem, including "don’t” and "you.” The heavy presence of the second person pronoun "you” infuses the poem with intimacy and directs the lines to the audience reading it. Bukowski tells this "you” why someone should or shouldn’t become a writer. The "you” address makes it seem like he’s recording a conversation or writing a letter.
Since the "you” is presumed to be the reader, the repetition of "you” carries an accusatory tone. Perhaps Bukowski is trying to tell the reader that they shouldn’t become a writer. Conversely, maybe Bukowski is showing the reader why they are fated to become a writer, and he's preparing them for the turbulence ahead.
The contraction "don’t” also populates the poem. The term anchors the poem and counters the disorderly form. In Stanza 1, the repetition of the phrase "don’t do it” supplies the poem with a melody. It makes the poem sound like a chant or a call-and-response.
The emphasis on "don’t” spotlights the poem’s bleak attitude toward writers. Each time the reader comes across "don’t,” they’re reminded that Bukowski doesn’t think of writing as a healthy, happy, or holistic vocation. The person is either a false writer creating drab texts or they’re a real writer dealing with combustible elements beyond their control.
Juxtaposition
"so you want to be a writer?” pits the real writer against the fake writer. Bukowski sets the two side by side to illustrate their keen differences. The juxtaposition starts in Stanza 1. Bukowski depicts the real writer as a person who can’t control the writing that comes out of their body. In Line 8, Bukowski switches to the fake writer, who has a tough time getting anything to emerge. They’re gazing at their screen and “searching” (Line 12) for words. The difference between the two creates a sharp contrast. The genuine writer is effortlessly prolific, while the imposter struggles to make words appear at all.
In Stanza 4, Bukowski continues to juxtapose the staid writer with the tumultuous writer. Bukowski places the libraries of "dull and boring” (Line 40) books against "a rocket” (Line 50), "madness” (Line 52), and "burning.” Such juxtaposition creates a perceptible disparity between the dormant life of an artificial writer and the disquieting experiences of an actual writer.
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By Charles Bukowski
