Elegy for Bob Kaufman

This deeply heartfelt work, a succinct and thankfully neo unself-righteous lamentation by Neeli Cherkovski to and for his for late north beach, san francisco, comrade-in-poesy bob "Abommunist Manifesto" kaufman.This is Cherkovski's finest creative effort, at least among those of Cherk's works this reviewer has studied. Cherkovski, biographer of giants Ferlinghetti, Winans, and Bukowski, this time sets aside the journalistic and laborious near drudgeries of biographer toil, instead transcending the literary common-place to break bread with the gods, specifically those gods who specialize in living poetry's highest calling. I mean this time out Cherkovski is Inspired! Nothing obtuse about this new work; nothing hacklike; nothing testy nor negative nor put down-y.Kaufman was really a close friend and is so sorely missed by Cherkovski a reader will have a tough time keeping eyes dry. One must wonder about the amount of affection he felt for his former roommate, charles bukowski, in comparison to the genuine love, admiration, deep abiding respect both creatively and as a simple pal for a pal, and now sorrow for his departed walk-mate an laugh partner, for so many fun filled moments of joy, laughs, hilarious revelries and ribald north beach shared experiences...Buy this great book for your library, for those shelves you maintain the very best of cogent spiritual works packed with holy sacred precious elegaic renderings of our master surviving poet/scribes - if this one doesn't grab at least a Nobel nomination for poetry - I'll astro- project to stockholm myself to beat on their ignorant and yes illiterate doors! Cherkovski has dominated Bay area literary activity for twenty years, mentoring his near peers gregory corso, michael McClure, and especially star student harold "hotel nirvana" norse, to new heights of literary success - without Cherkovski's calm and enlightened hand, such writers would have struggled so much more to bring lucid cohesion to their new stanzas.This elegy will last if we last; a work to bring walls of bigotry down as long as hate sticks around - FOR AS LONG AS THERE REMAINS ONE GOOD EAR ON EARTH THIS ELEGY WILL BE HEARD AND LIVE FOREVER. Amen