Henry Charles Bukowski was a German-born American novelist, short story writer and poet. Bukowski published his first story when he was 24 and began writing poetry at the age of 35. His writing was greatly influenced by his home city of Los Angeles, often featuring direct language, violence, and sexual imagery, and many of his works feature a roughly autobiographical figure named Henry Chinaski.

Time magazine called Bukowski a “laureate of American lowlife”. He published over sixty books and was a prolific public reader of his works. If he were still alive, today he would celebrate his 95th birthday on 16 August. In honour of Bukowski and his work, BBC Culture asked readers to share their favourite lines by the author.