Linda Lee Bukowski

Linda Lee Bukowski, the widow of Charles Bukowski, was the second wife of the great poet, short-story writer and novelist and is the curator of his estate. Bukowski met the former Linda Lee Beighle in 1976, when she was the proprietor of a health food restaurant. Their initial relationship is covered in the novel "Women" (1978), which is the writer's masterpiece in that genre. (Bukowski was unique in that he distinguished himself in poetry, the short story, and the novel; in addition, he wrote an original screenplay, Barfly (1987).) Eventually, the two began living together and married in 1985. Driector Taylor Hackford, who had known Bukowski since the early 1970s, credits Linda with adding a decade on to the life of the writer, who was a notorious boozer. In 2006, Linda Bukowski donated her late husband's literary archive to the Huntington Library (San Marino, California).