Charles Bukowski, the late dirty-realist author, saw our humanity in everything — especially in the ordinary.
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Just read this passage from his controversial book, Women:
“I was sentimental about many things:
a woman’s shoes under the bed;
one hairpin left behind on the dresser;
the way they said, 'I’m going to pee.'
hair ribbons;
walking down the boulevard with them at 1:30 in the afternoon, just two people walking together;
the long nights of drinking and smoking;
talking;
the arguments;
thinking of suicide;
eating together and feeling good;
the jokes;
the laughter out of nowhere;
feeling miracles in the air;
being in a parked car together;
comparing past loves at 3am;
being told you snore;
hearing her snore;
mothers, daughters, sons, cats, dogs;
sometimes death and sometimes divorce;
but always carrying on, always seeing it through…”
As a copywriter…
It helps to be sentimental this way, sensitive to the nuances.
It helps to recognize traces of our humanity — of our pain and pleasure — in the typical things, the mundane things, the things people take for granted.
Because if you zoom in close enough on those moments, they become stories, human stories we can all understand and feel.
And stories are marketing currency.
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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)If you want more “micro” content, feel free to explore 100s of articles, interviews, courses, and series — all free. Enjoy!Eddie Shleyner
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