Bus Tour Celebrates Famous Drunk Writer’s Birthday

LOS ANGELES (TNA) – Memphis, Tennessee, will be honoring the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death today, but for people who love liquor and literature, Los Angeles is the place to be.

August 16 marks the 87th anniversary of the day author Charles Bukowski was born, and L.A. fans of the alcohol-loving author are celebrating with something called “Bukday,” a 5-day series of events focused around the famous drunkard’s life and work.

Lit lovers in L.A. are celebrating writer (and drinker) Charles Bukowski.

One of the events is the debut of a bus tour called “Haunts Of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski’s L.A.,” dedicated to the man who inspired movies like “Barfly” (1987), and a whole bunch of aspiring writers to seek their muse at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.

The tour will shuttle Bukowski fans past the post office that inspired his first novel “Post Office,” and stop in Skid Row, where he moved when he was 20 to “practice for adulthood,” as organizer Kim Cooper puts it.

That stop will also allow fans to have their picture taken at Morrison Hotel, which not only housed Bukowski for a time, but also inspired the name of a Doors album.

But the highlight of the tour may be the highballs at Musso and Frank, the oldest bar in Hollywood. There, lit lovers who love getting lit will be able to drink martinis made by Bukowski’s favorite bartender, Ruben.

Other events taking place from now until Sunday (Aug. 19) include an ice cream social with flavors inspired by Bukowski books; a pub crawl through Bukowski’s favorite dive bars; and a Sunday brunch where fans will be able to read their favorite passages – many about getting drunk – out loud to their fellow restaurant patrons.

Bukowski died in 1994 and since he was always appreciated more in Europe than the U.S., it’s perhaps fitting that most of the media attention towards “Bukday” has come from that part of the world.