Lex Fridman Reads Charles Bukowski’s “Nirvana”

A reading of a poem about a fleeting moment during a bus journey.

LFLex FridmanSpeaker · Lex Fridman Podcast
Channel
Lex Fridman
Published
Dec 24, 2019
Video
2:22
Read
1 min
Original
English
Open on YouTube
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SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

Fridman reads Bukowski’s account of a passenger who briefly feels at home in a café before continuing onward.

  1. 1JourneyA passenger travels through snow.
  2. 2CaféHe notices warmth in an ordinary stop.
  3. 3DepartureHe leaves with the other passengers.

Takeaways

  1. A snowy journey pauses at a café.
  2. The passenger notices an ordinary moment of beauty.
  3. The journey resumes.
FULL TEXT

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Transcript only
01

A snowy journey

Lex Fridman reads Charles Bukowski’s poem “Nirvana,” which follows a young bus passenger on a snowy journey.

Lex Fridman reads Charles Bukowski’s poem “Nirvana,” which follows a young bus passenger on a snowy journey.

02

The café

At a café stop, the passenger notices the food and the warmth of the people working there.

At a café stop, the passenger notices the food and the warmth of the people working there.

The quiet scene gives him a feeling of beauty and a wish to remain there.

03

Leaving

When the bus is ready to leave, he considers staying but ultimately rejoins the other passengers.

When the bus is ready to leave, he considers staying but ultimately rejoins the other passengers.

As the journey continues, the passenger carries the private impression of a fleeting moment that the others did not seem to notice.

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