Bohemian Manifesto
The Bohemian Manifesto is a book written in 2004 by Laren Stover and illustrated by IZAK. Subtitled, A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, it details the eccentricities, the peculiarities, and the informalities of being a Bohemian. Full of quotes and letters by famous Bohemian artists, it details the traditional lives of Bohemians, based on their "class". They are: Nouveau Bohemian, Gypsy Bohemian, Beat Bohemian, Zen Bohemian, and Dandy Bohemian.
Bohemian Identification
Laren Stover breaks down the Bohemian into five distinct mind-sets/styles in Bohemian Manifesto: a Field Guide to Living on the Edge. The Bohemian is "not easily classified like species of birds," writes Stover, noting that there are crossovers and hybrids. Below are the five main types devised by Stover.
- The Nouveau Bohemian brings elements of traditional Bohemian ideology into harmony with contemporary culture without losing sight of the basic tenets—the glamour, the art, the nonconformity. And while Nouveaus may suffer poetically, artistically and romantically, they have what appears to be, at first, one advantage over other Bohemians—the Nouveau has money.
- The Gypsy Bohemian: The expatriate types. They create their own Gypsy nirvana wherever they go. They are folksy flower children, hippies, psychedelic travelers, fairy folk, dreamers, Deadheads, Phish fans, medievalists, anachronistic throwbacks to a more romantic time…Gypsies scatter like seeds on the wind, don’t own a watch, show up on your doorstep and disappear in the night. They’re happy to sleep in your barn and may have without you even knowing it.
- The Beat Bohemian: Reckless, raggedy, rambling, drifting, down-and-out, Utopia-seeking. It might look like Beats suffer for their ideals, but they've let go of material desire…Beats are free spirits. They believe in freedom of expression. They travel light but there’s always a book or a notebook in their pocket…Beats jam, improvise, extemporize, blow ethereal notes into the universe, write poetry, ramble and wreck cars. They live on the edge of ideas. They take the part and then make up their own lines.
- The Zen Bohemian: No other Bohemians fathom the transient, green and meditative quality of life better than the Zens, even if they're in a rock band, which they often are. The Zen is post-Beat, a Bohemian whose quest has evolved from the artistic, smoky, literary and spiritually wanderlustful to the spiritually lustful.
- The Dandy Bohemian: A little seedy, a little haughty, slightly shredded or threadbare, Dandies are the most polished of all Bohemians even when their clothes are tattered. The Dandy aspires to old money without the money…You are more likely to find unpopular liqueurs such as Chartreuse and Earl Grey brandy in the Dandy home than a six-pack of Budweiser. In fact, you will never find a six-pack in the Dandy’s quarters, though Alsatian ale is a possibility…This does not mean that the Dandy refuses Budweiser at a picnic. That would be impolite.