If I Was In Jail In Bob Kaufman's Work
Sitting here writing things on paper almost as if I was in jail Bob Kaufman wrote a collection of thirty-four short poems from his perspective inside a jail cell and became a renowned author of the realism, naturalism, and modernism era. Many of these poems contain one liners much like Yogi Berra’s Yogiisms. His selection of poems describe what he sees, hears, and feels inside the jail cell as well as creating a visual image of what’s inside the jail and he liked to model his poems with the structure of jazz music. My overall impression of this compilation of poems is that these aren’t really poems as I know poems. Bob Kaufman may be suffering mental illness or maybe a great philosopher, but it is unclear to me which one. Many lines in his poems have no meaning. For example, Kaufman uses an example in poem three that “a golden sardine is swimming in my head.” The first two lines of this poem make complete sense, but the third is off the wall. He also writes “I sit here writing, not daring to stop’ For fear of seeing what’s outside my head.” He may suffer from a mental sickness. Yogi Berra was a talented and much loved Hall of Fame baseball player that was known for his humorous quips and quotes. Author Bob Kaufman reminds me of an African American version of Yogi Berra. They both had great sayings that actually make sense if you just
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He writes “shadows I see, forming on the wall, Pictures of desires protected from my own eyes,” and “All night the stink of rotting people, Fumes rising from pyres of live men, fill my nose with gassy disgust, Drown my exposed eyes in tears.” His writings at times seem very depressing and bleak, but at certain points he shows causes for hope. “The baby came to jail today,” shows that he was excited that his girlfriend came to visit. He also writes about “Three long strings of light braided into a ray” and how “Johnny Appleseed” will help free
He writes “shadows I see, forming on the wall, Pictures of desires protected from my own eyes,” and “All night the stink of rotting people, Fumes rising from pyres of live men, fill my nose with gassy disgust, Drown my exposed eyes in tears.” His writings at times seem very depressing and bleak, but at certain points he shows causes for hope. “The baby came to jail today,” shows that he was excited that his girlfriend came to visit. He also writes about “Three long strings of light braided into a ray” and how “Johnny Appleseed” will help free