bobby johnson-Bard of Clarissa St, aka Bebop Poet!

bobby johnson, affectionately known in Rochester, NY, as “the Bard of Clarissa Street” or the “Bebop Poet” is a writer and performance artist who was very prolific and active from the late 1960’s until he suffered a stroke in 2006 and lost his greatest gift, his words.  Even after that event, however, bobby never lost his spirit or his love of a stage and has joined musicians or poets onstage, scat singing or playing his kazoo.
 
bobby published 5 books of poetry, and his work has appeared in numerous literary journals.  He taught in universities, schools, community centers, and prisons and performed across the US. In 2001, he was honored by Rochester’s premier literary center, Writers and Books, for “Lifelong Contributions” to writing.
 
bobby’s work has been heavily influenced by jazz and he often performed with musicians or incorporated musical lines into his performances.