A Following

Bukowski’s ambiguous word choice in titling the poem “A Following” gestures toward much of the poem’s implicit exploration of the nature of community and influence. The term “following” is used in common parlance or speech to indicate a fanbase, but it also carries connotations related to religious discipleship. The flock of students and acolytes that a religious figure, or even cult leader, instructs can also be described as that person’s “following.” Bob Dylan expressed the general countercultural attitude toward such social hierarchies when he advised his audience, “don’t follow leaders, watch the parking meters.” One can assume that Bukowski would have found the notion that he had been made into such an object of adulation amusing, if not absurd. The poem itself places this phrase directly in the mouth of one of the drunken, semi-belligerent late-night callers, a contextualization that renders his use in the title facetious and ironic. If these callers do indeed constitute Chinaski’s “following,” their behavior would seem to indicate that they hold such notions somewhat in disdain.

Likewise, the setting and conversational tone of this exchange between Chinaski and his fans—or harassers—similarly undermines conventional notions of fandom.