I was given the opportunity to create a set of dust jackets for three books that not only showcased each book separately but also worked as a cohesive set. I chose to re-imagine Charles Bukowski’s novels “Ham on Rye”, “Post Office”, and “Women”. Bukowski was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted home city of Los Angeles. Bukowski’s work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work.

I wanted to represent Bukwoski’s thinly-veiled autobiographical writing style by including real elements from Bukowski’s life (such as documents, handwriting, and photographs) in the collages. His writing focuses on raw, and raunchy themes; this influenced the imagery I chose. Each dust jacket has been printed on textured watercolor paper, torn out with a tear bar. The titles on the cover and spine are embossed with embossing powder.