In the wake of social disillusionment and utter contempt for peers, Kelly abandoned everything. "I went South in search for destiny, freedom, soul, God, or my demise. After a relentless trek through Latin America, South of the Orinoco, down the Amazon, descending the coast of Brazil, South of Corcovado, I found myself living on the streets of S o Paulo. I went South 'til I ran out of money. I lived in the gutters as a vagabond reading classic poetry: Lord Byron, Keats and Poe. They were my fellow exiles. I consumed nothing but devoured verse, dreams, visions and I became a citizen of nowhere. Nobody believed I was American. For who, sacrificing such comforts would live as I: wretched poor "