--- product_id: 10350184 title: "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Poems About Gambling, Drinking, and Women by Charles Bukowski" price: "S$32" currency: SGD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sg/products/10350184-burning-in-water-drowning-in-flame-poems-about-gambling-drinking store_origin: SG region: Singapore --- # Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Poems About Gambling, Drinking, and Women by Charles Bukowski **Price:** S$32 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Poems About Gambling, Drinking, and Women by Charles Bukowski - **How much does it cost?** S$32 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sg](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/10350184-burning-in-water-drowning-in-flame-poems-about-gambling-drinking) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles.”—Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author “He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”—Leonard Cohen, songwriter Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame is poetry full of gambling, drinking and women. Charles Bukowski writes realistically about the seedy underbelly of life. The poems in the first three sections of this book were published in three volumes : It Catches My Heart in its Hands, Crucifix in a Deathhand and At Terror Street and Agony Way . Charles Bukowski wrote in his introduction "Looking at these poems written between 1955 and 1973 I like (for one reason or another) the last poems best. I am pleased with this. I have, of course, no idea what shape my future poems will take, or even if I will write any, because I have no idea how long I will go on living, but since I began writing poetry quite late in life, at the age of 35, I like to think they'll give me a few extra years now, at this end. Meanwhile, the poems that follow will have to do." Review: I like this early stuff better - I have been an avid reader of Bukowski for thirty years now. What can I say? I feel an affinity with the man. I moved out to Southern California with some drunken, vague thought in my head that I would be closer to him, and maybe even visit him, or try to, but he passed the very year I moved to SoCal which is where I still live. I have all his works, and have read and re-read all of his poetry and prose for these three decades. It may seem paradoxical, but the older I get, the more I have been enjoying the poetry he wrote as younger man, while, the exact opposite was true when I was younger. I wonder why that is? But, I think there is certain muscle in his earlier work. A certain spit in the eye. There is also this singing that can be heard above the howling and the madness. There is something trying to break free, and in that process of becoming liberated, generated a certain light and clarity. I am not disparaging his later work (I mean, my god, Last Night of the Earth is absolutely mind-blowing) but, as the years pass me by, I like looking at these early poems. I tend to smile more when I read them than I do the later works. Review: Short commentary on Bukowski - Bukowski wrote about his reality and he led a real life and it wasn’t a bed of roses. It was full of drunken nights, sex, violence at times, writing, flophouses, getting jobs reading his work when he could, working crappy jobs with little respect, hangovers and the vicious cycle that goes on with it all. Bukowski was also a very talented writer to take what he saw and what some people see every day and turn it into very sharp and real without any gimmicks or come ons in his writing about what his life was really like. Either you get Bukowski and enjoy his writing for what his reality was and how he wrote about it with a sharp and keen eye, or you don’t like Bukowski and you find him distasteful and his reality too lowbrow or crude for your taste in the language he used in some works and in his own sense of reality and how he chose to write about it. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #75,546 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #75 in Poetry Anthologies (Books) #93 in Death, Grief & Loss Poetry (Books) #149 in Love Poems | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 803 Reviews | ## Images ![Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame: Poems About Gambling, Drinking, and Women by Charles Bukowski - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71yECDCve6L.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like this early stuff better *by C***N on November 5, 2018* I have been an avid reader of Bukowski for thirty years now. What can I say? I feel an affinity with the man. I moved out to Southern California with some drunken, vague thought in my head that I would be closer to him, and maybe even visit him, or try to, but he passed the very year I moved to SoCal which is where I still live. I have all his works, and have read and re-read all of his poetry and prose for these three decades. It may seem paradoxical, but the older I get, the more I have been enjoying the poetry he wrote as younger man, while, the exact opposite was true when I was younger. I wonder why that is? But, I think there is certain muscle in his earlier work. A certain spit in the eye. There is also this singing that can be heard above the howling and the madness. There is something trying to break free, and in that process of becoming liberated, generated a certain light and clarity. I am not disparaging his later work (I mean, my god, Last Night of the Earth is absolutely mind-blowing) but, as the years pass me by, I like looking at these early poems. I tend to smile more when I read them than I do the later works. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Short commentary on Bukowski *by D***K on May 17, 2020* Bukowski wrote about his reality and he led a real life and it wasn’t a bed of roses. It was full of drunken nights, sex, violence at times, writing, flophouses, getting jobs reading his work when he could, working crappy jobs with little respect, hangovers and the vicious cycle that goes on with it all. Bukowski was also a very talented writer to take what he saw and what some people see every day and turn it into very sharp and real without any gimmicks or come ons in his writing about what his life was really like. Either you get Bukowski and enjoy his writing for what his reality was and how he wrote about it with a sharp and keen eye, or you don’t like Bukowski and you find him distasteful and his reality too lowbrow or crude for your taste in the language he used in some works and in his own sense of reality and how he chose to write about it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s great!!! *by A***S on November 30, 2023* It’s probably my second favorite Bukowski poetry book… Very good! There are a lot of good poems in it. I carry it in my book bag and pull it out if I’m sitting in waiting in the doctors office or if I’m waiting for a client to get to me… I’m so over electronics I typically carry a book or two or a cassette recorder in my bag…*** The cassette recorder is for just taping, random thoughts and ideas or things that are going on in my life at the moment just to try and get away from the digital age.*** I am a child of the 70s so I still like tangible things like books, you can hold. This is a good one!! I will say my favorite Charles Bukowski poetry book is: The last night of the earth poems, that would be my first choice. This one would be my second choice… It’s definitely worth buying or if you know a fan of Charles get this for them for Christmas or if you want to introduce someone to his poetry this is also a good one for that ! Enjoy! ## Frequently Bought Together - Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame - The Last Night of the Earth Poems - Love is a Dog From Hell --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sg/products/10350184-burning-in-water-drowning-in-flame-poems-about-gambling-drinking](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/10350184-burning-in-water-drowning-in-flame-poems-about-gambling-drinking) --- *Product available on Desertcart Singapore* *Store origin: SG* *Last updated: 2026-10-26*