Emperor Norton Project
The Departed (two poems, 1871)
These two poems amount to a sort of roll-call of some of the Bay Area’s most colorful characters, including, of course, Emperor Norton I. I’ll take some time in the near future to add some material about some of the others. NOTES: “A familiar figure for many years was the ‘Gutter Snipe.’ His shoulders were covered all seasons with an old white oilcloth cape. He went about the streets head down, rummaging among the gutters, picking up bits of vegetables and fruit, wiping the dirt off with his sleeve, and eating them. He never spoke to any one, never looked […]