So brave! Seriously, that is basically the brand he built his career on. If you really wanted to be mean, you would say “Bukowski is really a very nice guy, nothing at all like the low-life he writes about”.
Why can’t his poetry speak for itself? Why is it only good when we know the backstory?
The emperor has no clothes. His work is simplistic and the gravitas is fake.
Glad for you if you like his work - there is no accounting for taste. I know I’m in the minority, and learned scholars disagree. I’m not trying to convince anyone, just offering a differing viewpoint.