Freshman English

Birth of Gonzo

By: Charles Giuliano - Nov 28, 2014

Freshman English

Arnie Sugarman
A grad student
Taught Freshman English
Often late
Or skipped
When he did teach
Pretentious bore
Ersatz Oxford accent
Mumbled profundities
Smoked a pipe
In class
Being in college was
Scary but fun and exciting
Camus’ The Stranger
Thrilled
Inspired series of drawings
For an assignment
Wrote like that
Best I could
Short deadpan sentences
My grandfather’s funeral
Family gathered in Brooklyn
Rose the eldest daughter
Leaping into the grave with Pop
Held back
Having survived
Hosted family feast
Rare encounter with
The Sicilians
That essay
In embryo
What I do now
Birth of Gonzo
Crushed by a C Plus
Lived to write another day