Treatise On The Modern Bohemian

First of all, I need to apologize for not blogging the last couple of weeks. I have been quite busy moving into my new apartment in Baltimore (which means that anyone living/visiting in Baltimore is required to see me at some point....not as an attraction, but just as a - "hey, I want to see what your face looks like in person" kind of thing.)

Packing, loading, unloading and rearranging my furniture/belongings (again) led me to start thinking about how many times I have been doing this. Not counting camp and college, I have moved into a total of 9 different places (not including this apartment - this is apartment number 10). Several of those places have been in a summer cottage, in the basement of a house, in the middle of a state park...you get the idea. Multiple locations in multiple areas. To try and really see how much I've actually moved around, I made a map. I've included it below for your perusal:

  

Just thought I should add in the disclaimer that this map is certainly not drawn to scale and serves as merely a demonstration.  

 But this got me thinking. I have lived in many places over the course of the last ten years, yet when plotted out geographically, I really haven't gone too far out of my way. In essence, I've just bounced back and forth, much like a ping-pong ball in a dryer. I will admit, I was a tad miffed. After all, I do call myself the Bayside Bohemian. How could I hold onto this moniker if I have only lived in a sliver of two states. Not to say I haven't gone elsewhere, I've been to Canada (yes, I know, who HASN"T been to Canada), attended a conference in Colorado (and drove to and back). But the only places I've ever established some sort of occupation (I'm not saying residence, as technically according to the IRS, I am only an official resident of Tioga count). 

What, then, makes a Bohemian? To start delving into answering this question, Wikipedia was quickly pulled up. 

And I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. The link to the page is below for those of you who are curious (this is actually under the term Bohemianism).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemianism

I find this passage quoted by Wikipedia from Gellette Burgess intriguing, to say the least on the (then) "modern Bohemian":

To take the world as one finds it, the bad with the good, making the best of the present moment—to laugh at Fortune alike whether she be generous or unkind—to spend freely when one has money, and to hope gaily when one has none—to fleet the time carelessly, living for love and art—this is the temper and spirit of the modern Bohemian in his outward and visible aspect. It is a light and graceful philosophy, but it is the Gospel of the Moment, this exoteric phase of the Bohemian religion; and if, in some noble natures, it rises to a bold simplicity and naturalness, it may also lend its butterfly precepts to some very pretty vices and lovable faults, for in Bohemia one may find almost every sin save that of Hypocrisy. ...

His faults are more commonly those of self-indulgence, thoughtlessness, vanity and procrastination, and these usually go hand-in-hand with generosity, love and charity; for it is not enough to be one’s self in Bohemia, one must allow others to be themselves, as well. ...
What, then, is it that makes this mystical empire of Bohemia unique, and what is the charm of its mental fairyland? It is this: there are no roads in all Bohemia! One must choose and find one’s own path, be one’s own self, live one’s own life.^[12] 

 "...be one's own self, live one's own life." My family would definetly agree that describes me. but for the most part, this definition is mostly defunct. Why? Because the '60's and '70's changed this, quite dramatically. A protest against the American presence in Vietnam turned into a rebellion against the rigid culture of the 1940's and 1950's became the highlight of the American culture and what many ubranite, pseudo-bohemians - contrabohemians, if you will - strive to recreate, by quoting the most influential post-modern Bohemians one of which - Alan Ginsberg - comes to mind. But here again, we have a conflict. A bohemian is supposed to be of this world but not a part of it. Ginsberg and his fellows rode the tide of the culture like expert Hawaiian surfers. They were cultural icons. 

The other point that I take issue with in the above definition by Burgess is that he describes Bohemians as drifters and vagabonds. If we describe Bohemians as drifters - total drifters - would they not become gypsies? An entirely different class of being? Ginsberg got that part right - though I think the pot had something to do with it.

To me, Bohemians can (and should) have a home base, thought they may not always be in that locale, they have to have some base of operations, if you will. Bohemianism is in fact a culuture in itself, though a subculture, an undertone. And I'm not talking about the Starbucks, "you are a cultural or literary genius if you sit in our stores and drink a latte." The main stream media and advertisers of the "Burgoise Boheme`" do nothing but give endless fodder to a crass culture (which, ironically, is propagated to us by the generation that created individualism during the 1960's and 1970's - they created it, wrote the book on it and now they are selling it - gotta love the American marketing industry).  But I digress.

So then, let's recap on what we've talked about so far. My ideal Bohemian would be one who is involved with the arts - dance, theatre, music, writing, etc. This person does not have to be avante garde (please, heavens no). But an inclination to the arts is a must. Mobility is key. These people are worldly, they know what life is like outside of a bubble - they've lived it, they've become a part of it perhaps nothing more than an observer. But they have still witnessed not just a burgoise lifestyle, but also a peasant lifestyle.

Lodging, a bohemian can live in a loft or studio, or even a standard apartment. Ironically, due to the current economic state, many college graduates fall into this category by shacking up with a significant other or roommate or even their parents and it has forced them to become thrifty with their money. 

Now, herein lies a problem. Whenever I talk about money (or my parents) the favorite word that people like to use as a synonym for thrifty is frugal as in don't spend it! Most of the time this is fine. You can get away with it no problem. Not today. 

Today, for this piece, I will need to isolate those two terms. A bohemian lifestyle requires one to be thrifty with your money but not necessarily frugal with it. Being thrifty  here implies that one doesn't pine after every cent, but he (or she) knows how to get the most with the money that they have. They know the priorities (gas, food, etc.) and they know what to get and where to get it in a jiffy. The best thing is that this doesn't have to affect on the quality of ones living. A frugal person, however, is much more rigid and his or her priorities or choices may in fact affect their quality of living - to simplify, a frugal person is much more snobbish when it comes to satisfying their palate. 

This is one of the key's to living a Bohemic lifestyle - being thrifty and not being frugal. And the only way that one truly masters this is by moving around frequently with minimal resources.

So where do I fit? Perhaps on the upper scale of the Bohemian lifestyle. I have many friends who would fall into the modern day definition of being a Bohemian. Perhaps, the more settled I become, the more inwardly I rebel and want to return to a more simplified, bohemian existence myself. 

And, for the sake of being more precise, I have to emphatically stamp down any notion that a modern bohemian has to wear or look like something that stepped from 1971 past the 1980's and '90's and landed smack dab in the middle of 2012. 

No. No. No, no, no, no, no,no, no.  Bohemians are not hippies. 

You'd be surprised at how well we blend in - and perhaps that's the key to modern bohemian living - being able to blend in but still have a presence and help form the overture of modern day life. 

One does not need to be a guitarist, or a singer, or an actor to be a bohemian. One can also write, draw - who is going to record what everyone else is doing? 

Let me describe a Bohemian in a different way. Recently, I, along with my girlfriend and family attended an outing at the house of a well-liked professor emeritus, who is actively involved in the suburban arts culture of a rural community. The gathering was fantastic! What made it such an excellent gathering is that it united people from across many different social stratums of the community. (Those of you who are from or know of the community I speak of, you will not be surprised. The rest of you may be blown away - rest assured it does happen). But what was so amazing about this gathering was that everyone who was in attendance had some connection to the arts - performers, playwrights, thespians, local artists and photographers. It was a very simple affair, but the energy was evident. It was by far a very welcome event and very well received. As I was sitting around chatting and eating my food, it hit me: "Aha! THIS is the ideal Bohemian experience." 

This gathering, in the middle of a row of houses, brought a lot of people out of the woodwork who share many commonalities - a love and passion for the performing arts, caring about neighbors, activists for many causes that impact the culture and life of others in the community. This is the modern Bohemian lifestyle!

This is what it means to be Bohemian in today's culture!

Je suis, de la Bohême de vie!

 An Ode To the Modern Bohemian

French -

Je peux travailler un emploi pour payer certaines factures,
Mais ne me sous-estimer, qui n'est pas qui je suis.
Pour vous, je peut sembler fou, quelques-uns des endroits où je vais.
Mais je suis la bohémienne, c'est qui je suis.
Je peux fredonner un air, accrocher un ballon
Et amusez-vous sur et le stade vide.
Je n'ai pas de problèmes d'escalade une clôture pour obtenir, le
Dernière aperçu d'un coucher de soleil fondu.
Car je suis l'Bohême.

Je pourrais vous écrire un sonnet et peut-être essayer de faire un bonnet
(si la couture n'est pas mon truc),
Parce que je suis la Bohême.

J'ai vécu si longtemps avec si peu,
Tout ce que je besoin de quelques amis.
Afin de recueillir avec de rire et applaudir et à railler à la Passerby
Jusqu'à ce que tous le verre est parti, puis tirez les histoires,
Des gloires légendaires,
Des jours qui n'ont pas encore à venir.
C'est ma vie si vous ne pouvez pas le comprendre;

Je suis, de la bohème!

Je suis, de la Bohême de vie!

English Translation:

I may work a job to pay some bills,
But don't underestimate me, that is not who I am.
To you I may seem crazy, some of the places I go.
But I am the Bohemian, this is who I am.
I can hum a tune, hang a balloon
And have fun on and empty stage.
I have no problems climbing a fence to get, the
Last glimpse of a fading sunset.
For I AM the Bohemian.

I could write you a sonnet and maybe try to make a bonnet
(though sewing is not my thing),
Because I AM the Bohemian.

I have lived so long with so little,
All I need are some friends.
To gather with to laugh and cheer and jeer at the Passerby
Until all the drink is gone, and then pull out the stories,
Of fabled glories,
Of days that have yet to come.
This is my life though you may not understand it;

I am, the Bohemian!

I am, the living Bohemian!

(written by Alex Borzok, all Rights Reserved)