City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2014 "The Last Of The Great Bohemians": Film Poetry, Myth, And Sexuality In Greenwich Village And The Atlantic, 1930-1975 Thomas Winfield Hafer Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/46 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] “THE LAST OF THE GREAT BOHEMIANS”: FILM POETRY, MYTH, AND SEXUALITY IN GREENWICH VILLAGE AND THE ATLANTIC, 1930-1975 by THOMAS WINFIELD HAFER A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York. 2014 ©2014 Thomas Winfield Hafer All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________ ____________________________ Date Joshua Freeman, Chair of Examining Committee ________________ _____________________________ Date Helena Rosenblatt, Executive Office David Gerstner Daniel Hurewitz David Nasaw Randolph Trumbach Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract “The Last of the Great Bohemians”: Film Poetry, Myth, and Sexuality in Greenwich Village and the Atlantic, 1930-1975 by Thomas W. Hafer Adviser: Joshua Freeman In Greenwich Village, a final generation of bohemians contested the rise and trajectory of gay liberation. During the 1930s, this generation blended modernist poetry and sexuality to develop a new manifestation of bohemia. In the postwar period, they transformed modern poetry into the new artistic medium of film that was critical to shaping postwar American art and culture. This wave of bohemia was built on certain modernist principles, including a universalist understanding of sexuality and identity that was different from, and incompatible with, the growth of identity politics in the 1960s. This dissertation argues that this was a last gasp of modernist bohemian ideology that fought against identity politics and the intellectual shift towards postmodernism, but lost and died out. This study creates a social and cultural map of this Atlantic bohemia in the decades prior to its clash with identity politics. At its center is the collaborative friendship of critical film theorist Parker Tyler and multi-media artist Charles Henri Ford. Tyler and Ford moved within artistic circles that included poets, painters, composers, avant-garde filmmakers, and writers, and they were tangential to the Surrealists, the Beats, the New American Cinema, and Andy iv Warhol’s Factory. While this world was anchored in Greenwich Village, Ford, Tyler, and their friends collaborated with other groups around the city, including African-American artists in Harlem, Upper East Side benefactors, and the Latino community in the Lower East side. They also built an Atlantic network to other bohemians within the United States and as they traveled to other places and communities throughout Europe, Latin America, and North Africa. They were able to use these connections to further their art and defend their world against social and cultural changes. Scholarship has often sought to trace Postmodernism from the 1970s back in the Modernist past. This project intervenes in that discourse by showing that bohemians were committed to Modernism into the 1970s and contested that intellectual shift. Their bohemian conception of identity and sexuality and the group’s resistance to gay liberation also challenge the prevailing gay history narrative that focuses on a politicized gay identity in the post- Stonewall era. v Acknowledgments I could not have completed this project without the generous help of many people, so I begin by expressing my gratitude to all of them. My adviser, Josh Freeman, was incredibly supportive from the start and throughout the process. He kept me mindful of the big picture, offered constructive feedback, and helped me to situate this group within New York City history. Randy Trumbach has overseen my work in graduate school since my first year. His guidance, insight, and encouragement have been invaluable. David Nasaw has supported me and helped me to sharpen my arguments. David Gerstner has pushed my analysis and use of theory. And Daniel Hurewitz has been an advocate and inspiration throughout the entire project. Other members of the Graduate Center program have assisted and supported me in countless ways. Tim Alborn, Tom Kessner, and Jim Oakes read different chapters in dissertation seminars. Dagmar Herzog, Gerry Markowitz, and Kathleen McCarthy helped me in my first year of the program as I begin work on Parker Tyler. Alfonso Quiroz and Carroll Smith- Rosenberg were advisers for my Atlantic Studies minor, which added an important piece to this project. And I could not have navigated the department without the help of Betty Einerman and Marilyn Weber. Many of my cohort in the program motivated me in tough times, read pieces of the dissertation in progress, and became good friends. Thank you to Paula Austin, Shirley Idelson, Mariel Isaacson, Gwynneth Malin, Sophie Muller, Paul Naish, Kitty Nirta, Paul Polgar, Lauren Santangelo, Chad Turner, and all my peers at the Graduate Center who supported me through classwork and writing. vi Teaching has been an incredibly fulfilling experience for me and since my second year in the program I have taught at several schools in the New York City area. I would like to thank Melania Clavell and Allison Kavey at John Jay College, Ana Calero, Katherine Pence, and Cynthia Whittaker at Baruch College, and Phil Dehne at St. Joseph’s College for helping to create wonderful environments in which to teach and for their understanding and encouragement in completing my doctoral work. I could not have made it through this program without the institutional support of the CUNY Graduate Center. I am grateful to the Colonial Dames of New York, who annually offer a dissertation award to a graduate student and believed in my project enough to grant me a fellowship. And I am incredibly appreciative to the Leon Levy Foundation and the Leon Levy Center for Biography, which provided me with a generous fellowship and the incredible opportunity to work with other scholars and writers. I am grateful to Adam Begley, Madison Smartt Bell, Michael Gately, Gary Giddins, Elizabeth Kendall, John Matteson, D. T. Max, Ikuyo Nakagawa, and Brenda Wineapple, who offered inspiration, encouragement, and invaluable feedback on my writing and research. I would also like to thank the many archivists, librarians, and staff at the institutions where I conducted my research. I appreciate the hospitality and assistance from everyone at the Anthology Film Archives, especially Robert Haller, the Filmmakers Cooperative and M. M. Serra, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas Austin, in particular Pat Fox, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, and Yale University’s Beinecke Library. Thank you to Samantha MacBride and New York City’s Department of Sanitation for a fascinating internship and great learning opportunity. I have had wonderful experiences attending conferences on film and history, and presenting findings from my dissertation at several. I vii appreciate the collaboration and insight from Jennie Brier, Julio Capó, George Chauncey, Marcie Gallo, Ron Gregg, and Víctor Macías-González. I would like to give a special thanks to my family. My mom, Ellen, has given me the strength and courage to pursue my goals. I get my love of history and belief in hope, humanity, and progress from my dad, Ron. Nate and Taryl have given me tremendous encouragement. Statia and James have helped provide me with levelheadedness, trust, and vision. Max is very lucky. And Rick, JoAnn, and Michael have been so kind and supportive over the years. Most of all, thank you to Steven Frank for standing by me through this long and often difficult process. He supported my decision to get my Ph.D., helped me throughout the program in more ways than I can count, and believed in me when I doubted myself. This would not have been possible without him. viii Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Young and Evil Bohemia, 1930-1939 15 Chapter 2: Viewing the War, 1939-1947 63 Chapter 3: Postwar Film Poetry, 1943-1957 108 Chapter 4: Film Poets as Old Guard, 1957-1967 161 Chapter 5: Poetry in the Era of Gay Liberation, 1967-1975 215 Conclusion 263 Bibliography 269 ix List of Figures Figure 0.1: Drawing of Parker Tyler by Pavel Tchelitchew, 1940 8 Figure 1.1: Map of Greenwich Village by Robert Edward, 1925 19 Figure 1.2: Photograph of Parker Tyler by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 21 Figure 1.3: Photograph of Parker Tyler, unknown photographer, 1933 21 Figure 1.4: Photograph of Charles Henri Ford by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 21 Figure 1.5: Photograph of Djuna Barnes by Berenice Abbott, 1926 39 Figure 1.6: Photograph of Paul Bowles by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 43 Figure 1.7: Photograph of Charles Henri Ford by Henri Cartier Bresson, 1933 50 Figure 1.8: Photograph of Pavel Tchelitchew by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 52 Figure 1.9: Portrait of Charles Henri Ford in a Poppy Field by Pavel Tchelitchew, 1933 53 Figure 1.10: Photograph of Charles Henri Ford