There's little doubt that the "City of Angels" had a huge affect on Bukowski's life and poetry. On page 43 there is a poem titled "Pershing Square, Los Angeles, 1939" that describes an assortment of eccentric winos and prophets that Bukowski encountered in the park in the middle of the city.
Another direct reference to Los Angeles is a poem on page 241 titled "Carlton Way off Western Ave":
"here among the massage parlors
the pawn shops
the liquor stores
caught in the smog and the squalor".
Carlton Way is a rough neighborhood that Bukowski lived in for many years and it certainly satisfied his attraction to a dingy lifestyle.
Carlton Way is mentioned again on page 184. The poem is titled "hard times on Carlton Way" and it again alludes to squalor and crime, but this time in a way that suggests Bukowski is tiring of it rather than thriving off of it.
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