Charles Bukowski is quoted in a new Joe Biden campaign ad, but you would only know that if you’re already familiar with the man’s work. That’s because the new spot for the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, which stars Dr. Jill Biden, refers to the author of the words she quotes merely as “a poet.”
“A poet once wrote, ‘What matters most is how well you walk through the fire,'” Biden says in the two-minute long video. “And right now, that’s what so many of us are doing, caught in the grief of this moment.”
She then runs through a list of concerns plaguing people right now, such as unemployment, poverty, isolation, and grief, all topics Bukowski wrote about extensively.
“But while tragedy and trials may be the end of one story, they can be the beginning of another,” she continues. “It’s what so many of you are doing right now.”
She mentions educators, front line workers, friends and family members staying in touch, and proclaims that we have collectively learned that we are “stronger than we ever knew. That we are brave, resilient.”
“This November, we will show that resiliency. We will come together and we will vote. We will vote to lift each other up, to provide breath for the exhausted. We will vote not against a candidate, but for each other. We will vote for Joe Biden, and after November we won’t stop, with the strength, resilience, and courage we didn’t know we had, we will continue to fight for each other, for what is right,” she adds.
Biden then pledges that we will “walk through this fire, and we’ll do it together.”
Bukowski’s words have wound up in a number of advertisements over the years since his passing in 1994, like for Dewar’s whiskey and Levi’s jeans, but this appears to be the first time he has shown up in an election campaign, at least on a national level.
It is worth noting the ad doesn’t namecheck “the poet,” which one imagines it might have were it a more mainstream and palatable name, like say a Robert Frost.
I bet you didn’t have Charles Bukowski showing up in a political campaign with a message of hope at its center on your 2020 Bingo card, but then, this has been an unpredictable year.
What do you think of Biden using Bukowski’s words in an ad without naming him? Let us know in the comments.
How do you feel about Joe Biden using a #Bukowski quote in an ad without naming him? #Election2020
— Bukowski Quotes (@bukowskiquoteus) October 21, 2020
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