Tag Archives: Bohemians

BOOKS: Absinthe by Tania Brasseur & Tamara Berger

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Absinthe: The Forbidden Spirit: An Intoxicating History of the Green FairyAbsinthe: The Forbidden Spirit: An Intoxicating History of the Green Fairy by Tania Brasseur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Release Date: February 27, 2024

The biography of a beverage might not seem exhilarating, but absinthe has no ordinary history. It rose from obscurity as a regional drink indigenous to parts of France and Switzerland to international celebrity by becoming popular with artistic geniuses of the era — e.g. Oscar Wilde. Some of whom credited the drink with more than just a pleasant tipsy sensation. Then it received its own prohibition while other alcoholic beverages remained perfectly legal. Of course, as with other prohibitions, Absinthe’s legend rose and taste for it didn’t disappear. Eventually, its prohibition ended, and absinthe was freed to have a second life.

This book is primarily a history of absinthe’s rollercoaster ride existence. However, it also discusses wormwood and other prominent ingredients, the distillation process, as well as the mythology that grew up around the beverage.

If you’re curious about the beverage and its mythos, I’d recommend you give this book a look.

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BOOKS: Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction by David Weir

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Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction (VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS)Bohemians: A Very Short Introduction by David Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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This book examines the brief life of the Bohemian artistic lifestyle, exploring how it came about, what it looked like in its heyday, what led to its demise, and by what / whom it was replaced (e.g. the Beats.) It is an intriguing examination of the subject. I will say, there were points that I felt the book had become lost in the weeds, but at other points I found it fascinating. I concluded that my own calculus was to find it interesting when it discussed the lives and works of artists who are still deemed to have relevance and influence today (e.g. Baudelaire, Picasso, and Whitman,) and not so much when it was elaborating on artists and works that have fallen into obscurity among the general populace (e.g. Henry Murger’s Scenes of Bohemian Life.) So, that may be more a reflection on me than on the book.

The author touches upon the fictional influences that inspired Bohemianism, the places where the lifestyle thrived (e.g. Paris and New York,) the philosophy and – particularly – the political philosophy of the Bohemians (e.g. often Anarchists or – at least – anti-government.) One of the topics that most interested me is how the successor artistic communities differed from the Bohemians.

If you’re interested in who the Bohemians were and how they differ from other artistic communities (before and after,) this book is well worth the brief read required.

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Green Fairy [Free Verse]

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Bohemians
   gathered around 
   the absinthe bottles,
  the light hitting 
   the bottles shone
   a radioactive shade
   of green.

That green light
   threw blotches
  against walls &
 floors & people &
  anything else there
  was to illuminate.

The more they drank,
 the less green the mottling --
  not because the empty glass 
   was clear, &
 didn't refract, or spray green,
   but because the splotches
  turned every color --
   every color there is --
  and the colors danced
   around the increasingly 
  amorphous surfaces.

 Until, at last,
  everyone was asleep,
 and visions of Green Fairies
  danced in their dreams.