Benjamin Franklin, Franz Kafka & Me

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The early bird gets the worm 
but if that worm slept in, he 

might still be alive today.

                                       -Paul Oliverio

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This is another example of a  deferential equation  (not to be confused with a differential equation)
wherein I equate little old me with some known personage of cultural stature.

Call it kowtowing in reverse.

If I were Benjamin Franklin, I would be able to say
I inspired Franz Kafka to write a novel.

But I am not  Benjamin Franklin.

I am a 65 year-old teenager whose alleged writings
have been strongly influenced by  Franz Kafka.
Forgive me Ben: I have not read ye at all.

With that last sentence, I have stated my first lie on this page.

Franklin's essay THE SAVAGE INDIAN is an Oliverio favorite
because it portrays 18th Century Native Americans
as the exact opposite of savage.

Surely, I digress.

Franz Kafka never set foot on American soil
but  Amerika,  published in 1927, is about
a young German man who visits
the United States of America.

Despite the word not having existed
at the time of publication, the man
has no shortage of "Kafka-esque"
adventures and misadventures
while he is there.


Having read Mr. Franklin's Autobiography
inspired Kafka to write this novel. 

The cover of this  New Directions Paperback

was designed by Mrs. CarPeo's best friend

(Mr. CarPeo notwithstanding). 

That is no lie and neither is this: an excerpt of Amerika can be read by clicking  here.

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Footnote
Another example of a deferential equation–despite the difference
in auction house pricing– appears  there.

The next Kafka page, one tenth the length of this one, is  here. 

The next Benjamin Franklin page is  an "almanack."
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