Movie Review: Bohemia: The Life of a New York City Poet

Written by: Karen Benardello

Movie Review:

R Media Inc. Films in conjunction with AB Film Productions Present:

Bohemia: The Life of a New York City Poet

Move over Dead Poet’s Society; here comes the new great poetry movie. The new R. Media Inc. Film documentary Bohemia: The Life of a New York City Poet features interviews with, and the poems of, some of New York’s best undiscovered talents, ready to break free from the underground scene and into the mainstream.

Bohemia does an expert job of featuring artists young and old from different races and experiences. As Bob Holman, who founded the Bowery Poetry Club, a bar in Manhattan’s Lower East Side that provides a performance outlet for both established and upcoming artists, stated in the beginning of the movie, you never know what’s going to come out of the featured poets’ mouths. Considering Bohemia is focused on New York poets, this is expected, but director Richard Ramson also features poems that are not offensive to anyone, and really show what life is like in the Big Apple.

One featured artist, a young black man nicknamed “Blis” (whose album Alive is for sale at Cdbaby.com/blismusic), said that artists need to release their tensions through art. If they don’t, their tension will come out in other, potentially violent, ways. Brigid Murnaghan, an older white woman, agreed, saying that people need poetry, and rightfully said that people feel free once they read what they’ve written out loud.

One of the most touching interviews and readings came from Sandy Rochelle, a mother of an autistic son who spoke about what it feels like to raise her child while always being ignored by other parents and children. She said that her and her son were “cast away from the chosen,” and in a heartbreaking moment, pondered how her son would survive once she’s gone.

Another sentimental reading and interview came from Paul Knopf, a jazz musician who served in World War II. His poem focused on death and the soldiers he encountered while fighting, which he said he dealt with by writing. Knopf spoke of one of his most personal and difficult times of when he was put in detox, his roommate would continuously escape, and how he dealt with the commotion.

The documentary paid a deserving tribute to Knopf, as his group, OutCat, was featured as the opening (“Charleston”) and closing (“Blues on a Wet Thursday”) theme songs. Knopf played the drums, Ron Miller was on bass and Walter Perkins on drums.

Bohemia: The Life of a New York City Poet showed that while the residents of the city that never sleeps are often depicted as tough-as-nails, the people in the poetry community really do come together, and are happy to take anyone interested in expressing themselves through words under their wing. This documentary is a must-see for anyone who wants to get started in New York’s poetry scene.