"Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way"
About this Quote
Bukowski’s version of “genius” is a knife aimed at the overeducated, the overpolished, and the overcomplicated. He’s not praising simplicity as some feel-good aesthetic; he’s proposing it as a stress test. If an idea is truly profound, it should survive contact with plain language. If it needs velvet curtains of theory, maybe it’s not wisdom at all - just status performance.
The line also reads like self-defense and self-mythmaking. Bukowski built a career on abrasion: barroom clarity, blunt confession, a voice that refused the tasteful obscurity often rewarded in literary circles. Calling simple speech “genius” flips the usual hierarchy. It elevates the guy who can land a truth in eight words over the one who can lecture for eighty minutes. There’s a democratic bite to that, but also a sly bit of brand strategy: the poet of the everyday declaring the everyday the highest register.
The subtext is craft, not anti-intellectualism. “Simple” is not “easy.” Compressing something complex into a clean sentence takes ruthless editing and an ear for what people actually say when they’re not auditioning for admiration. In a century of manifestos, movements, and academic gatekeeping, Bukowski is arguing for impact over ornament. Genius, here, isn’t an IQ score; it’s the ability to make a thought travel - fast, intact, and impossible to mishear.
The line also reads like self-defense and self-mythmaking. Bukowski built a career on abrasion: barroom clarity, blunt confession, a voice that refused the tasteful obscurity often rewarded in literary circles. Calling simple speech “genius” flips the usual hierarchy. It elevates the guy who can land a truth in eight words over the one who can lecture for eighty minutes. There’s a democratic bite to that, but also a sly bit of brand strategy: the poet of the everyday declaring the everyday the highest register.
The subtext is craft, not anti-intellectualism. “Simple” is not “easy.” Compressing something complex into a clean sentence takes ruthless editing and an ear for what people actually say when they’re not auditioning for admiration. In a century of manifestos, movements, and academic gatekeeping, Bukowski is arguing for impact over ornament. Genius, here, isn’t an IQ score; it’s the ability to make a thought travel - fast, intact, and impossible to mishear.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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