Give And Take

My guest is Bob Holman. On December 3, 2019, Bowery Books simultaneously released two new books of poetry by Bob Holman—written 50 years apart. LIFE POEM (https://www.amazon.com/Life-Poem-Bob-Holman/dp/1936411547)and THE UNSPOKEN (https://www.amazon.com/UnSpoken-Bob-Holman-Word-Movement/dp/1936411571/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bob+Holman+the+unspoken&qid=1575579603&s=books&sr=1-1) serve not only as bookends to a lifetime immersed in words, performance, and the avant garde, but they also show the evolution of an artist, an art form, and a downtown art scene that’s gone from Allen Ginsberg to Lou Reed to Eileen Myles to Mahogany L. Browne. LIFE POEM is a recently rediscovered book-length poem Holman wrote at age 21, new to poetry and first in its thrall. Filled with “jounce and pounce,” as Gwendolyn Brooks says, it’s a hippy diary full of communes, Vietnam, romance, and a driving love for language that ended up lasting a lifetime. THE UNSPOKEN is a collection of recent works, written by Holman, A WIDOWER in his 70s,