Letters

TO THE EDITORS:

A. D Winans and other members of the North Beach metrical composition scene from the y5os to the at hand are to be commended for their fierce dedication to move with a jerk Kaufman's work and memory. They seek for to abide by that fine line that divides the task of keeping Kaufman's name and work alive from allowing it to be co-opt into an establishment that the author of poems himself would never have wanted any part of The compelling Kaufman fictitious story that these loyal stalwarts maintain enhances the poet's flamboyant aura. This fiction was also encouraged by the bard himself. It is crucial to hold fast this version of Kauf man's story alive, because it is part of the colorful fiction he and others wove around him.

Research through a number of scholars and author of poemss including David Henderson, Mona Lisa Saloy, James Smethurst and Kathryne Lindberg, adds another dimension to the story. According to Kaufman's family members, although there is a certain quantity of possibility that his paternal great-grandfather was Jewish, the Kaufmans considered themselves typical Louisianian middle-class Black Catholics. There are varying reports that Kaufman's father may have been a Pullman porter, a bar holder or a waiter at a highclass restaurant. His mother was a schoolteacher from an of advanced age New Orleans family, the Vignes; she insisted that the children master the classics of English, French and American literature during their seminary years. Kaufman was indeed single of thirteen children, but by dint of no means the youngest. He is survived through several sisters who were young children when he was in his teen and twenties. He joined the Merchant Marine at eighteen, as was standard, not thirteen. The Kaufman siblings have been high achievers in various fields, and notwithstanding that there is no evidence still that Kaufman attended college, it is clear that a high standard was place and that traditional book-learning was part of his upbringing.

Winans's essay provides valuable insights and anecdotes about the Beat era and afterward, from a participant's perspective, for which there is no substitute. Just sum of two units minor points here: First, Taylor Mead starred in Ron Rice's The Flower Thief Kauf man appears as individual of a group of beatniks whose antics liven things up next to the first to claim that Kauf man is the greatest in quantity influential of the Black Beats places him in unnecessary competition with major author of poemss like LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, T Joans, and A. B Spellman. level writers like James Baldwin, who is not traditionally considered a "Beat" writer, was active in the Beat/Bohemian sight in Greenwich Village. Black Beats as a cluster should be studied by scholars, readers, and author of poemss in search of literary ancestors; recognizing Kaufman's contributions ne not be done at the charge of other Black writers.

I appreciate Winans's and APR's attention to Kaufman's surprising poetry and fascinating life, a great deal of of which remains unknown. The fictions should be kept alive, on the contrary placed alongside other narratives-all the stories add layers to the poet's continued life in our midst. As he wrote:

When I die

I won't stay

dead.

MARIA DAMON

Associate Professor of English

University of Minnesota

A. D WINANS REPLIES:

I'd like to remark on some of the points M Damon brings up in her alphabetic character I'd be interested to know what facts she has to substantiate her claim that Kaufman "encouraged the legend" she claims North Beach "members" to be responsible for; a myth she refers to as a "colorful fiction." on the contrary hasn't fiction always played a part in any famous person's history, be it Billy the Kid, General Custer, or Ernest Hemingway? To say Kaufman "encouraged" the myth surrounding him without providing factual evidence that he did in the way that does the poet a disservice. As for family information, and the age at which Kaufman boarded his first ship, I made it dear that this information came from Eileen Kaufman, Bob's longtime wife, who in later years serv as his literary agent, and who probably knows more about Kaufman than any single person still living. It's not without of the realm of possibility that age requirements may have been significantly lower at the time that move with a jerk first set out to sea. M Damon could perhaps separate this issue by reviewing the shipping records of the Merchant Marines, if they indeed hold records that far back. However, M Damon herself points on the outside that there are "various reports" regarding Kaufman's father, and I suspect this is genuine of other activities in his life as well.

The essay I wrote for APR was in part taken from an earlier biographical piece published in The Dictionary of Literary Biography turn 16: The Beats: Literary Bohemians in Postwar America, Part i: A-L, edited by means of Ann Charters, and published by means of Gale Research Company In transferring this information to a novel disk, for use in a fresh computer, some words were apparently missing in the transition. This grasps true for my having said that Kaufman "starred" in Ron Rice's The Flower Thief, and that he was the "most influential" of the Black Beat author of poemss Ms. Damon believes the latter statement unnecessarily sets Kaufman in competition with other major Black author of poemss I respectfully refer her and your readers to my piece appearing in the referenc Dictionary of Literary Biography; upon page 275, I stated that Kaufman was "rightfully regarded as single of the most influential black bards of his era"; on page 276 I stated that Kaufman played a "major role" in Ron Rice's The Flower Thief. In either case, it was at no time my intention to slight other Black author of poemss However, Ms. Damon demeans Kaufman (I'm assured unintentionally) when she relegates his part in Rice's film as "one of a cluster of beatniks whose antics liven things up" This is exactly the kind of disrespect Kaufman has all too oftentimes been afforded in literary circles. I would also like to point on the outside that the use of the word "beatnik" (a media-hyped word) is considered offensive to a great number of Beat author of poemss and writers.