"Words For Elephant Man": poetry by Kenneth Sherman

“Words For Elephant Man” by Kenneth Sherman: a review

“Hauntingly beautiful!”

Although these words are overused, they really apply to this collection of poems. This is a journey through Joseph's short, painful life, told in the first-person with dark wit, longing and keen observations of the 19th-century conditions around him.


Unsentimental yet deeply moving, "Words For Elephant Man" take us into Merrick's world of fairgrounds, the grim workhouse from which he was desperate to escape, the society ladies who awakened his awareness as a man, and Frederick Treves, the doctor who secured for him a permanent home at the London Hospital.

Unlike the movie and the play, these poems are historically accurate, being based on the superbly- researched biography, "The True History of the Elephant Man (Howell & Ford, 1980.)

A real tour de force for anyone who admires Joseph Merrick, as well as for readers new to his story, "Words For Elephant Man" should be on every library shelf. Highly recommended for all!

Joseph to John

In Frederick Treves's memoirs, written about Merrick and others, he wrote the name 'Joseph', and then crossed it out and replaced it with 'John'. Having such a close relationship with his patient, I find it strange that he should do this. There are different views why he did it, some say, because he wrote his memoirs many years later he simply FORGOT. However, I believe that would have made more sense had he written 'John' first and corrected it with 'Joseph'. Others say, it's because Treves wanted to give Joseph's family some anonymity. Perhaps that's so. My belief however, is that Treves had the most personal experience and knowledge of Joseph and, he felt by changing the name, he would somehow benefit from keeping the identity to himself. We'll never know Treves' intention for crossing out the proper name and replacing it with a fictitious one. Nevertheless, I'd be really interested to hear your take on this.

David Lynch's film, "the Elephant Man"

I first saw the film in about 1983 and have watched it numerous times since.  It was shot in monochrome, to add further impact and and better illustrate the poorest quarter of London in the 19th century. Whitechapel.  If you haven't yet seen it, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Even though there are areas that stray from the truth, it is, nevertheless, a masterpiece of cinematography, in my opinion.  I look forward to your construction opinions. Not just on the film itself, but on the way Joseph is portrayed, and, especially, the depicted relationship between Frederick Treves and Joseph Merrick, (known in the film, as 'John'.