Charles Bukowski, arguably the most influential poet of the 20th century, recorded live at California's Sweetwater, in April 1980. At age 35, after a decade of too many parties and too many pills, Bukowski found himself in a Los Angeles Hospital with severe internal hemorrhaging. Shortly after, he began to write. German-born Bukowski turned the sleaze and filth of L.A.'s urban ditch into free-verse poetry and clean prose. In the interim, he developed a huge underground following, largely from his column called "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" and his infamous disorderly poetry readings on U.S. college campuses. This live recording captures Bukowski at his best - with microphone, audience, and perhaps even a beer, in hand.