Bob Holman on his life in poetry (12/17/19)

Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote in a New Yorker profile that Bob Holman has “done more to bring poetry to cafes and bars than anyone since [Lawrence] Ferlinghetti.” He brought the spoken word scene and poetry slams to New York City twice, first as the co-director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, then as the founder of the Bowery Poetry Club. He further democratized poetry through his award-winning PBS documentaries The United States of Poetry and Language Matters. This month, Bowery Books is publishing two new books of poetry by Bob Holman—written 50 years apart. “Life Poem” and “The Unspoken” 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. Tune in for a discussion with Bob Holman of the evolution of New York City’s poetry scene as seen through his own work over five decades.