Did Charles Bukowski Really Say, "Find What You Love and Let it Kill You?"

Jef Rouner July 16, 2013 10:00AM

UPDATE: When this article originally ran we failed to credit the creator of the above image, Richard Tito. See more of his art here.

If you've been on Facebook in the last several months then you've probably seen the quote, "Find what you love and let it kill you." It's usually attributed to the drunken brilliance of poet Charles Bukowski. The question is, is it a legit quote?

This came up because the quote is the title of the latest EP from Linus Pauling Quartet. Singer Ramon Medina contacted me regarding the quote, asking that I use some journalism powers to try and confirm the origin before he told everyone that Bukowski was not the source as Facebook memes would have us believe. Together we did some digging.

Supposedly, the quote is from one of Bukowski's numerous letters, and reads...

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My dear,

Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain from you your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you, and let it devour your remains.

For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it's much better to be killed by a lover.

Falsely yours, Henry Charles Bukowski"

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Jef Rouner is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.

Contact: Jef Rouner