View source for Henry Chinaski

{{Short description|Literary alter ego of Charles Bukowski}}
{{Redirect|Chinaski|the Czech band|Chinaski (band)}}
'''Henry Charles "Hank" Chinaski''' is the literary [[alter ego]] of the American writer [[Charles Bukowski]], appearing in five of Bukowski's novels, a number of his short stories and poems, and the films ''[[Barfly (film)|Barfly]]'' and [[Factotum (film)|''Factotum'']]. Although much of Chinaski's biography is based on Bukowski's own life story, the Chinaski character is still a literary creation that is constructed with the veneer of what the writer [[Adam Kirsch]] calls "a pulp fiction hero."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kirsch |first=Adam |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/03/14/050314crbo_books |title=Smashed. |magazine=The New Yorker |date= 14 March 2005 |accessdate=2014-07-17}}</ref> Works of fiction that feature the character include ''Confessions of a Man Insane Enough to Live With the Beasts'' (1965), ''[[Post Office (novel)|Post Office]]'' (1971), ''[[South of No North (book)|South of No North]]'' (1973), ''[[Factotum (novel)|Factotum]]'' (1975), ''[[Women (Bukowski novel)|Women]]'' (1978), ''[[Ham on Rye (book)|Ham on Rye]]'' (1982), ''[[Hot Water Music (book)|Hot Water Music]]'' (1983), ''[[Hollywood (Bukowski novel)|Hollywood]]'' (1989), and ''Septuagenarian Stew'' (1990). He is also mentioned briefly in the beginning of Bukowski's last novel, ''[[Pulp (novel)|Pulp]]'' (1994).

Chinaski is a writer who worked for years as a mail carrier. An [[alcoholic]], womanizing misanthrope, he serves as both the [[protagonist]] and [[antihero]] of the novels in which he appears, which span from his poverty-stricken childhood to his middle age, in which he finds some small success as a [[screenwriter]].

Some of the features of the Chinaskian [[persona]]: excessive alcohol consumption; love of art (classical music, literature); [[solitude]] and self-isolation; volatile relationships (especially with women); self-effacement; [[nihilism]]; and the violation of societal norms.<ref>Brewer, Gay. Charles Bukowski. Twayne Publishers, New York, 1997. p. 34-35. {{ISBN|0-8057-4558-0}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Chinaski was portrayed by [[Mickey Rourke]] in the film ''[[Barfly (film)|Barfly]]'' (1987), which Bukowski himself wrote and by [[Matt Dillon]] in the film ''[[Factotum (film)|Factotum]]'', released in 2005. In the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands|Dutch]] [[short film]] ''De Blauwe Bus'' (The Blue Bus), which was released in 2009, he was portrayed by [[Jan Mulder (actor)|Jan Mulder]]. In 2015 he was portrayed by actor [[Jonathan Peacy]] in the short film ''Sitting on a Fire Escape Eating Eggs''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5126722/|title=Jonathan Peacy|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4670294/|title = Sitting on a Fire Escape Eating Eggs|website = [[IMDb]]|date = 10 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/126723373 |title=Sitting on a Fire Escape Eating Eggs (Charles Bukowski Short Film) on Vimeo |website=vimeo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126023843/https://vimeo.com/126723373 |archive-date=2016-01-26}} </ref>

In 1997, the American rock quartet [[311 (band)]] released the album ''Transistor''. The album includes two secret tracks, one at the beginning and one at the end. The hidden track at the end of the album is called "Stealing Happy Hours," and it references the character in the lyrics, where it explains: "Don't wait one more minute to ask me/You make me feel like Hank Chinasky."

In 2013 the [[Argentine rock]] band Los Hijos de Claudia recorded a song called "Señor Chinasky", which refers to the character in the lyrics, where it states: "Mr. Chinasky, do not stop drinking".

[[The Avalanches]] used Henry Chinaski as a moniker to release "Sleepy Bedtime Mix for Young Ones" on the podcast Pinchy & Friends.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2012/04/26/download-the-avalanches-sleepy-bedtime-mix-for-young-ones/|title = Download the Avalanches' Sleepy Bedtime Mix for Young Ones}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2012/04/avalanches-return-sort-lullaby-mixtape/|title = The Avalanches Return, Sort of, with a Lullaby Mixtape|date = 23 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pinchyandfriends.com/5080/sleepy-bedtime-mix-for-young-ones/|title = Pinchy & Friends}}</ref>

The character inspired the name of the long-running Czech rock band [[Chinaski (band)|Chinaski]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Charles Bukowski}}

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[[Category:Author surrogates]]
[[Category:Fictional gamblers]]
[[Category:Fictional writers]]
[[Category:Fictional alcohol abusers]]
[[Category:Drama film characters]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1965]]
[[Category:Characters in short stories]]
[[Category:Fictional United States Postal Service workers]]