Bob Kaufman, a Poet, world traveler since his teens, in the Merchant Marines, is author of three books of poetry, and has been translated into French, German, Arabic, Hebrew, Bulgarian, Spanish, and Polish.
During the 60s, he wrote poetry, published "Beatitude" magazine, read at clubs in The Village, NYC and participated in Poetry/Jazz sessions in New York and San Francisco's North Beach.
Bob Kaufman took a vow of silence after Kennedy's assassination, and he began to speak when the Viet Nam war ended in 1973.
New Directions published SOLITUDES CROWDED WITH LONELINESS, THE ANCIENT RAIN, and an anthology featuring Bob's prose piece. His archives are at The Sorbonne in Paris. 1958 thru 1980. The archives from 1980 to the present time are in Mugar Library-museum, in Boston University which also houses the Dr. Martin Luther King collection.
Then Mayor Dianne Feinstein proclaimed April 13th, 1987, Bob Kaufman Day. Many honors subsequently came Bob's way, after his death in 1986 of Emphysema.
In Autumn, 1995, Cranial Guitar, his 4th book of poetry, is being published by Coffee House Press.
