Okay so, like Gunnar Kaufman. You might be wondering, who? He’s this black street poet guy who’s like really famous right now. Well, infamous I guess. I mean, the man did cut off his pinky finger the other day. Hello! He's like totally buggin’!
But like, he wasn’t always really crazy. Actually, he was raised in Santa Monica. I mean really! I’ve been to parties in Santa Monica and let me tell you, they’re definitely way better than the ones in the Valley. So anyways, like, when he was in middle school, he moved to Hillside, which is way different than Santa Monica. But obviously that isn’t a problem: as Daddy says, “Cher, doesn’t matter where you’re from, as long as you can string together a good argument you’re set in life.”
I’m not sure about arguing, but the man can write a poem. I actually have one of his books! It was one of my books of the week that I read to understand how other kinds of people live, but now I use it as a coffee-table book, it’s really interesting. The first poem he ever wrote, for example, was right after he moved to Hillside. It’s called Negro Misappropriation of Greek Mythology or, I know [N-word]s That’ll Kick Hercules’s Ass. At first I was all like confused and stuff about what it meant. I mean Kaufman is obviously all knowledgeable and everything--I mean he is writing about Greek mythology. But then the more I read the poem, the more I was like wow! We’re actually so similar. We’re both from the same general area, and we both have an appreciation for the arts! Here’s my favorite part of the poem:
"on the sloped banks of the L.A. River
i sit cross-legged
classical guru pose;
my 50-cent Bic pen taut with possibilities”
Later in the poem he talks about bodies and killings, which like O.M.G. that’s way harsh of a topic to write about. But like I really felt like I understood Kaufman with this part of the poem. Like, the world is our oyster. I’ve been picking up mediation lately too, and feeling one with nature is totally an amazing experience!
Speaking of feeling one with something, did you know Kaufman has been dubbed the leader of all black people? It’s because he cut off that finger I mentioned. Literally yuck. For context, once Kaufman moved to Hillside, he slowly seemed to become a totally different person. Like, for example, he was involved in a literal robbery! Oh my god I’m getting flashbacks to when I was robbed. My poor Alaia dress was never the same. But back on topic: it’s just so difficult to understand Kaufman from later in his life. When in college, he gave this speech, right, and he was supposed to be condemning this like corrupt salesperson, but instead he basically started some kind of worldwide suicide pact! And get this: the black community instated him as a leader because of it. Isn’t a community supposed to be about uplifting others? I definitely felt uplifted myself when I was helping the poor residents of Pismo Beach.
Like, Daddy’s a lawyer, right. And like because of it, whenever he speaks, his words affect people because he’s a powerful man. But, for Kaufman, right, something seems kind of weird about a powerful man who sells his powerful words (his second book Watermelanin is literally a world famous bestseller) being able to influence people so much that they kill themselves! Hello, being six feet under is like totally the opposite of being uplifted.
That’s it for today’s post! Drop a comment on what you thought, and of course as always, tell your friends about my blog! That hit counter won’t go up by itself.
I’m outie!
-Cher