Bob Holman's varied career has been devoted to promoting poetry in American culture. Born in 1948 in Harlan, Kentucky and raised in rural Ohio, Holman attended Columbia College and graduated in 1970 with a degree in English. In 1974, Holman began his tenure as the director of the Poets Theatre in New York City, and began studying with Ted Berrigan and Alice Notley at the St. Marks Poetry Project. He founded the New York City Poetry Calendar in 1977, and acted as its editor until 1980. With his completion of the St. Marks curriculum in 1978, Holman joined the Project's staff, acting as a coordinator, host, and workshop leader from 1978 through 1984. In later years, Holman held similar positions at several non-profit poetry groups and institutions, such as the Public Theatre and the Whitney Museum, where he acted as curator for a reading series.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Holman produced, directed, and performed in a variety of poetry festivals, tours, and other performances in New York City's Lower East Side poetry scene. From 1988 through 1989, Holman organized and hosted the "Poets in the Bars: A Celebration of the Oral Tradition" reading series, sponsored by Creative Time with Pedro Pietry. He also helped to reopen the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 1989, and worked as one of its co-directors until 1996. Holman founded the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Live! Touring Company in 1993. He hosted numerous Poetry Slams, a form of spoken word competition he helped to popularize. He was also active in the production and direction of plays, such as those of the "Poet's Theater Festivals" held by St. Mark's and La Mama Theatre between 1988 and 1990. His productions during the Festivals included stagings of Tristan Tzara's Gas Heart, Antonin Artaud's Jet of Blood, Vladimir Mayakovsky's Mayakovsky: A Tragedy, and Alfred Jarry's Ubu.
Holman's first poetry video, sweat'n'sex'politics, was introduced at The Public Theatre in 1985. The next year, he began a two year tenure in the Poetry/Video Learning Project, a part of the New York City Public School system's anti-dropout efforts, designed and produced by Rise and Shine Productions. The program targeted truant high school students and offered them the opportunity to write poems and participate in the production of poetry videos with the assistance of poets. From 1987 until 1995, Holman produced and acted as the host for Poetry Spots, a six season broadcast of video poems on WNYC-TV which received three Emmy awards. During the 1990s, Holman also produced a number of poetry television programs for PBS and MTV, including several documentaries regarding poetry in the United States. Among them are PBS' 1990 Poet in the Third Dimension, the 1991 Words In Your Face directed by Mark Pellington, the 1994 Slammin', and MTV's Smokin' Word. One of the largest of such projects was the United States of Poetry, a critically acclaimed five part television series co-created by Bob Holman and directed by Marc Pellington during 1996 for PBS. The program featured over sixty poets, rappers, cowboy poets, American Sign Language poets, and Slammers. The series received the 1997 International Public Television award, the San Fransisco Film Festival award, and the University of Virginia Film Festival award. In subsequent years, the project completed a companion anthology, a home video release from KQED, and a soundtrack CD. Holman also produced a digital anthology entitled World of Poetry, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1995, Bob Holman, Sekou Sundiata, and Bill Adler founded Mouth Almighty/Mercury Records as the world's first major label for poetry CDs, with Holman acting as its Vice-President of Artistic Development until 1999. The label released numerous audio tracks, including works by Sekou Sundiata, Maggie Estep, Wammo, Michele Serros and Beau Sia. Some of its major releases included Allen Ginsberg's The Ballad of the Skeletons, Hal Willner's compilation album Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and a four CD William Burroughs box set, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Between 1993 and 1996, Holman was a Professor of Writing at The New School for Social Research. From 1998 until 2002, he was a Visiting Professor of Writing and Integrated Arts at Bard College. Holman then shifted to Columbia University's School of the Arts where, as a Visiting Professor of Writing, he taught the graduate course "Exploding Text: Poetry Performance."
Sources
"About the World of Poetry." The World of Poetry. New York and Los Angeles: Washington Square Arts Inc., 1998 (http://worldofpoetry.org/aboutwop.htm) Accessed April 7, 2009
"About the World of Poetry: About Producer Bob Holman." The World of Poetry. New York and Los Angeles: Washington Square Arts Inc., 1998 (http://worldofpoetry.org/awop_bob.htm) Accessed April 7, 2009
Holman, Bob. "Bob Holman Bio 2009." http://www.bobholman.com/bio2001.htm
Holman, Bob. "Bob Holman's Resume." (March 31, 2009)
"Poetry-Video as Tool Keeps Truants in School." The New York Times, January 11, 1987, Section 1 page 40
Richardson, Lynda. "Public Lives: A Poet (and Proprietor) Is a Beacon in the Bowery." The New York Times, November 12, 2002, B2
Chronology
1974- ongoing Director, Poets Theater, NYC
1977-1980 Founding Editor, NYC Poetry Calendar
1977-1980 Poet, CETA Artist Project
1978-1984 Coordinator/Host/Workshop Leader, Poetry Project at St. Marks Church
1985 Host, "Lines" Radio Series, Detroit Institute for the Arts
1986-1988 Poet, Poetry/Video Learning Project, NYC Board of Ed Anti-Dropout Program
1987 Organizer, "US Poets Invade Nicaragua" Tour (Ginsberg, Cardenal, et al)
1987-1995 Producer/Host of "Poetry Spots," WNYC-TV
1988-1989 Organizer and Co-Host, "Poets in the Bars: A Celebration of the Oral Tradition"
1988-1996 Co-Director, Poetry Slam Host, Nuyorican Poets Cafe
1990-2001 Organizer and Host, "Public Poetry," Joseph Papp Public Theatre
1990- Producer/performer, "Smokin Word," "Words in Your Face," other poetry videos for PBS and MTV
1992-1996 Creator/Producer, "The United States of Poetry," 5-part series, PBS
1993 Curator, The Melting Point of Ice poetry series, The Whitney Museum
1993-1996 Executive/Co-artistic Director, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Live! Touring Company
1993-1996 Professor of Writing, The New School for Social Research
1993-1999 Organizer/Host, rAP mEETS pOETRY at Fez, S.O.Bs, Knitting Factory
1995-1996 Curator/Host Off the Beaten Path poetry series, Whitney Museum
1995-1996 On-line Host for Spoken Word site, iGuide Internet Server
1995-1999 Founder/Vice-President, Artist Development, Mouth Almighty/Mercury Records
1995- ongoing: Guide, poetry.About.com
1995-: Director, Bowery Arts & Science, Ltd (formerly Washington Square Arts)
1996-: Artistic Director, Real Live Poetry Touring Company
1997-: Chief Curator, the Peoples Poetry Gathering
1998-1999: Spoken Word Director, Cductive Interactive
1998-1999: Poetry commentator, Anthem, NPR
1998-2002 Visiting Professor of Writing and Integrated Arts, Bard College
2001-: Proprietor, Bowery Poetry Club
2002-: Publisher, Bowery Books
2003-: Visiting Professor of Writing, Columbia University School of the Arts
2004-2005: Poet-in Residence, WNYC, New York Public radio
2005-: Artistic Director, Study Abroad on the Bowery
Works
Books Written/Edited
Bicentennial Suicide, published New York: Frontward Books, 1976
The Rainbow Raises its Shoulder/When a Flower Grows published New York: Chinatown Planning Council, 1979
Tear to Open published New York: Power Mad Press, 1979
8 Chinese Poems published Teaticket, MA: Peeka Boo Press, 1981
SWEAT&SEX&Politics!, Teaticket, MA: Peeka Boo Press, 1986
PANIC*DJ: Performance Text, 1st edition published Imperial Beach, CA: VRI Theatre Library, 1987, 2nd edition published New York: University Arts Resources, 1990
Cupid's Cashbox, published New York: Jordan Davies, 1990
ALOUD! Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, co-editor with Nicole Blackman and Miguel Algarin, published New York: Henry Holt, 1994
Bob Holman's The Collect Call of the Wild, published New York: Henry Holt, 1995
The United States of Poetry, companion to the PBS series co-editor with Joshua Blum and Mark Pellington, published New York: Abrams, 1996
Beach Simplifies Horizon, New York: The Grenfell Press, 1998
A Couple of Ways of Doing Something, collaboration with Chuck Close, published New York: Art of This Century/Pace Editions, 2003
Anthologies
Fresh Paint, edited by Michael Slater and Yuki Hartman, published New York: Ailanthus Press, 1977
Poets Theatre, edited by Michael Slater and Yuki Hartman, published New York: Ailanthus Press, 1980
Up Late: American Poetry Since 1970, edited by Andrei Codrescu, published New York: 4 Walls 8 Windows, 1988, 1991
Out of This World, edited by Anne Waldman, New York: Crown, 1990
American Poets Say Good-Bye to the 20th Century, edited by Andrei Codrescu, published New York: 4 Walls 8 Windows, 1996
Thus Spake the Corpse: Exquisite Corpse Reader, edited by Andrei Codrescu, published Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow, 1999
Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance, edited by Gary Glazner, published San Francisco: Manic D Press, 2000
Short Fuse: Global Anthology, edited by Todd Swift, Philip Norton, Hal Niedzviecki, and James Kay, published New York: Rattapallax Press, 2002
Bum Rush the Page, edited by Tony Medina and Louis Rivera, published New York: MTV/Penguin, 2002
Off the Cuffs: Poetry by and about the Police, edited by Sheeler, with Foreword by Holman, published Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull, 2003
Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry, edited by Emanuel Xavier with Foreword by Holman, published San Francisco, CA: Suspect Thoughts, 2005
Life Interrupted, by Spalding Gray, published New York: Crown, 2005
Poetry and Pedagogy, edited by Joan Retallack and Juliana Spahr, published New York: Palgrave, 2006
Video Projects
Poetry Spots, WNYC-TV, New York, 1988
Panic*DJ! Bob Holman Live at the Club LaMama, full-length feature, 5/4 Video, 1990
Smokin' Word, MTV spoken word pilot, producer/performer, 1990
Words in Your Face, producer/performer, season premiere for "Alive from Off Center," aired nationally on PBS, 1991
Spoken Word Unplugged, performer/consultant, MTV, 1993
Word Up!, performer, three spots for "Much Music," Canadian MTV, 1994
The United States of Poetry, 5-part PBS series, creator/producer, 1996
Slam, Poetry slam host, Sundance award-winning film, major release, directed by Marc Levin, 1998
The World of Poetry, media project, creator/producer, in production
Whatever I Was Thinking Of, Lower East Side Short Film Festival selection, directed by Alex Meilleur, 2003
Russel Simmons' Def Poetry Jam, performer, HBO, 2004
We Are the Dinosaur, performer, Shoot the Poem ProVideo Festival, directed by Charles Dennis 2005
Audio Recordings Include
An Oral History of the Poetry Project, recorded in 1979, unreleased
"Rap It Up" on Sugar, Alcohol, and Meat, Dial-A-Poet, Giornos Poetry Systems Records, 1980
"Bob Holman, the Plain White Rapper," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, 2/7/89
"Poets in the Bars," All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 4/29/89
"Dark Star Crew at BAM," All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Sept. 2, 1990
"1990," on Knitting Factory IV, A & M Records, NYC, 1990
Nuyorican Symphony: A Spoken Word Compilation, Producer/Performer, Knitting Factory Records, 1994
Grand Slam: Best of the San Francisco National Slam, Producer, NuYo Records, 1994
Word Up, Performer, Virgin EMI Records, 1995
Wild Words, Performer, Cups Records, 1995
Poetry in Motion II, Performer, Voyager CD-ROM, 1996
Flippin the Script: Rap Meets Poetry, Performer/Host, Mouth Almighty/Mercury, 1996
Poemfone: New Word Order, Performer, Tomato Records, 1996
"Mouth Almighty: The Poets Label," Fresh Air, National Public Radio, 1997
In with the Out Crowd, solo CD, produced by Hal Willner, Mouth Almighty Records, 1998
Poet Laureate, WNYC Radio, 2004-5
Awards Include
Emmys for Local Programming and Editing, "Poetry Spots," 1988
Chicago Poetry Video Festival, Featured Artist, 1992, 1995
Input (International Public Television) 1992
Emmy for Local Programming, "Poetry Spots II," 1992
Bessie Award, Performance Excellence, 1992
Legend Award, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 1993
Before Columbus American Book Award, 1994
San Francisco Film Festival, 1995
XXth Biennales Internationales de Poesie, Liege, 1996
Input (International Public Television Award), 1996
Sundance Film Festival, 1996
National Poetry Slam Championship, Mouth Almighty Team coach, 1997-98
Curbstone Press, Honored Poet Award, 2000
New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellow, 1993, 2001
First International Poetry Film Festival, Bob Holman Special, Berlin, 2002
National Arts Award, Anderson Ranch, 2002
New York Public Library Minerva Award, 2003
Poets & Writers Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, 2003
Zebra Poetry Film Festival, US selection, 2004
Greenwich Village Historical Society, Preservation Award for Bowery Poetry Club, 2004
NYU Community Citizen of the Year, 2005
The Betty Kray Award, Poets House, 2006
Theatre Direction Includes
Stop At Nothing by D. Zhonzinsky, The Kitchen.
She Is in Tangiers: Life and Work of Jane Bowles by Millicent Dillon, St. Marks.
EAT ROCKS by Pedro Pietri, New Dramatists NYC.
Paid on Both Sides by W.H. Auden, sets David Hockney, Eye and Ear Theater.
The White Snake by Ed Friedman, sets Robert Kushner, Eye & Ear Theater.
4 Plays by Edwin Denby, sets Elizabeth Murray, costumes Judith Shea, Eye & Ear.
Clear the Range, from Ted Berrigan's novel, St. Clement's.
Mayakovsky, A Tragedy by Vladimir Mayakovsky, St. Marks.
The Gas Heart by Tristan Tzara and Jet of Blood by Antonin Artaud, St. Marks Church/ Ward-Nasse Gallery (NYC)
The Cause of Gravity/The Whore of the Alpines/Bicentennial Suicide by Bob Rosenthal & Bob Holman, St. Marks Church, Woods Hole Theater et al.
Boards and Panels
St. Marks Poetry Project, 1980-84
Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Inc., 1989-1996
New York Foundation for the Arts Literature Panel, 1992
A Gathering of the Tribes, 1994-2000
New York State Council on the Arts Literary Panel, 1996-1999
Poets House, Board of Directors,1997-2001
Atlantic Center for the Arts, National Council, since 1998
Cave Canem, since 1999
Yaddo, 2001- ongoing
National Book Award, Poetry Panel, 2002
National Poetry Series Panel, 2004
Federation of East Village Artists, Board of Directors, 2005
Taken from: Bob Holman C.V.(http://bobholman.com/curriculum/; March 31, 2009)
