http://solent-art.co.uk/paintings/teamwork/ We have here a curious bit of cultural history, and a glimpse of John’s life as a “youthful Greenwich Village poet.” When he came to New York in his teens, he sold a few pieces to the Hobo News (later the Bowery News), and got to know some of the colorful characters in the hobo and Bowery subculture. In 1949, he read the eulogy at the funeral of Dan O’Brien, “King of the Hobos.” The event was covered by a couple of New York papers. Here’s a clipping from the New York Sun, November 4, 1949.
And here’s the coverage from the New York World-Telegram, also on November 4, 1949. Note that Coney Island Willie is reading the Bowery News.
John saved the business cards of just about everyone he met. Here are the cards of Dan O’Brien, Prof. Giuseppe Ravita, Jim Crouch, and Harry Baronian, editor of the Bowery News. The note on the back of Harry Baronian’s card assured somebody named Alex that the young Keel was “okay.”
