Maxwell Bodenheim (May 26, 1892 – February 6, 1954) was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. A literary figure in Chicago, he later went to New York where he became known as the King of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

s. His writing brought him international notoriety during the Jazz Age of the 1920s.

Biography

Born Maxwell Bodenheimer in Hermanville,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, he was the son of Solomon Bodenheimer (born July 1858) and Carrie (born April 1860). His father was born in Germany and his mother in Alsace-Lorraine. Carrie emigrated to the United States in 1881 and Solomon in 1888. In 1900, the family moved from Mississippi to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The Federal census gave their residence as 431 46th Street . Bodenheim and writer

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...

met in Chicago and became literary friends about 1912. (At the time, Bodenheim was nicknamed "Bogey." The nickname was also applied in his later years in Greenwich Village.) They co-founded ''The Chicago Literary Times'' (1923–1924). Contributors included

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

Edgar Lee Masters Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868 – March 5, 1950) was an American attorney, poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of ''Spoon River Anthology'', ''The New Star Chamber and Other Essays'', ''Songs and Satires'', ''The Great V ...

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures the ...

Arthur Davison Ficke Arthur Davison Ficke (November 10, 1883 – November 30, 1945) was an American poet, playwright, and expert of Japanese art. Ficke had a national reputation as "a poet's poet", and "one of America's most expert sonneteers". Under the alias Anne ...

Floyd Dell Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 – July 23, 1969) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet. Dell has been called "one of the most flamboyant, versatile and influential American Men of Letters ...

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was bor ...

and

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. For many years a leading figure of the Bohemian scene in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's Greenwich Village, Bodenheim deteriorated rapidly after his success in the 1920s and 1930s. Before he married his second wife, Grace, he had become a panhandler. They spent part of their marriage in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

. After she died of cancer, he was arrested and hospitalized several times for vagrancy and drunkenness . Critic

John Strausbaugh John Strausbaugh (born 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American author, cultural commentator, and host of ''The New York Times'' ''Weekend Explorer'' video podcast series on New York City. Among other topics, he is an authority on the history ...

suggests that Bodenheim had "a real talent for scandal, easy enough to generate during Greenwich Village's prolonged drunken orgy in the Prohibition years." Strausbaugh notes that Bodenheim's "haughty, insulting demeanor, and his habit of trying to steal other men's women right under their noses, got him regularly socked on the jaw and thrown out of bars, soirees and the fauxhemian revels at

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significa ...

Work

Bodenheim published his earliest verse in the groundbreaking ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

'' magazine in 1914. A poem by Bodenheim was featured in the 1917 ''Others: An Anthology of the New Verse'', which included poems by such future luminaries as T. S. Eliot,

Marianne Moore Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit. Early life Moore was born in Kirkwood ...

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

, and

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

. While the poet was living in New York City, he became an active member of the Raven Poetry Circle of

."From the Stacks" at New-York Historical Society
/ref> Over the next ten years, he established himself as a leading American author, publishing ten books of verse, which incorporate many techniques of the

imagists Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized literary modernism, modernist literary movement in the English language. ...

, and 13 novels. His poetry books include ''Minna and Myself'' (

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the even ...

), ''Advice'' (

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

), ''Against This Age'' (

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

), ''The King of Spain'' (

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

), ''Bringing Jazz!'' (

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

) and ''Selected Poems 1914–1944'' (

1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...

). Bodenheim's novels include ''Blackguard'' (

), ''Replenishing Jessica'' (

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

), ''Ninth Avenue'' (

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

), ''Georgia May'' (

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

), ''Naked on Roller Skates'' (

) and ''A Virtuous Girl'' (

Personal life and death

Bodenheim had three wives. His first wife was Minna Schein (married 1918-divorced 1938), with whom he had one son, Solbert, born 1920. His second wife was Grace Finan (married 1939-her death 1950). After becoming a widower, he married Ruth Fagin (married 1952-their deaths 1954). Ruth, 28 years his junior, shared his derelict lifestyle. They were homeless and slept on park benches. He sometimes panhandled while carrying a sign that read, "I Am Blind," although he had adequate vision. He sometimes composed short poems for money or drinks. Ruth engaged in

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, which reportedly provoked beatings by her husband. Bodenheim and Ruth were murdered February 6, 1954, at a flophouse at 97

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Squ ...

in Manhattan, by a 25-year-old dishwasher, Harold "Charlie" Weinberg. They had befriended him on the streets of the Village and he offered to let them spend the night in his room a few blocks from the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...

. Weinberg and Ruth had sex near the cot where the 62-year-old drunken Bodenheim appeared to be sleeping. Bodenheim arose, challenged Weinberg, and they began fighting. Weinberg shot Bodenheim twice in the chest. He beat Ruth and stabbed her four times in the back. Weinberg confessed to the double homicide, but said in his defense, "I ought to get a medal. I killed two

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

."Burns, Jim
"Maxwell Bodenheim"
''The Penniless Press''. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2009 Weinberg was judged insane (

sociopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

) and sent to a mental institution. Hecht offered to pay for Bodenheim's funeral. Bodenheim's ex-wife, Minna, made arrangements to have him buried in her family plot in Cedar Park Cemetery,

Emerson, New Jersey Emerson is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, a suburb in the New York City metropolitan area. Emerson is the most southern town in an area of the county referred to as the Pascack Valley. As of the 2010 United States Cens ...

. The year before their murder, the Bodenheims had spent some time (perhaps two months) as guests of the

Catholic Worker ''Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper published seven times a year by the flagship Catholic Worker community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice. ...

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known ...

in New York. Day had been a friend of Maxwell in Greenwich Village in the 1920s. She devoted a chapter to the Bodenheims in her ''Loaves and Fishes'' (1963).

Legacy

*Bodenheim's memoir, ''My Life and Loves in Greenwich Village'', released six months after his death in 1954, was largely ghostwritten by

David George Plotkin David George Plotkin AKA "David George Kin" (April, 1899 – March 30, 1968)
Alex Jay, ''In ...

, a writer employed by the publisher

Samuel Roth Samuel Roth (1893–1974) was an American publisher and writer. Described as an "all-around schemer", he was the plaintiff in ''Roth v. United States'' (1957). The case was a Supreme Court ruling on freedom of sexual expression and whose minori ...

. Roth had been paying the down-and-out Bodenheim for his biographical stories about Greenwich Village at the time of the writer's murder. *Hecht based his 1958 play ''Winkelberg'' on the life of the bohemian poet. *Three official full biographies have been published on Maxwell Bodenheim: a doctoral dissertation by Edward T. Devoe, ''A Soul in Gaudy Tatters'', University of Pennsylvania (1957); ''Maxwell Bodenheim'' (1970) by Jack B. Moore; and a doctoral dissertation, ''The Necessity of Rebellion: The Novels of Maxwell Bodenheim'' (1975) by Arthur B. Sacks, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Selected works

* ''Minna and Myself'', poetry, 1918 * ''Advice'', poetry, 1920 * ''Introducing Irony'', poetry, 1922 * ''Against This Age'', poetry, 1923 * ''Blackguard'', novel, 1923 * ''The Sardonic Arm'', poetry, 1923 * ''Crazy Man'', novel, 1924 * ''Replenishing Jessica'', novel, 1925 * ''Ninth Avenue'', novel, 1926 * ''Returning to Emotion'', poetry, 1927 * ''Georgie May'', novel, 1928 * ''The King of Spain'', poetry, 1928 * ''Sixty Seconds'', novel, 1929 * ''Bringing Jazz!'', poetry, 1930 * ''Naked on Roller Skates'', novel, 1930 * ''A Virtuous Girl'', novel, 1930 * ''Duke Herring'', novel, 1931 * ''Run, Sheep, Run'', novel, 1932 * ''Six A.M.'', novel, 1932 * ''New York Madness'', novel, 1933 * ''Slow Vision'', novel, 1933 * ''Lights in the Valley'', poetry, 1942 * ''Selected Poems'', poetry, 1946 * ''My Life and Loves in Greenwich Village'', 1954 * ''Cutie A Warm Mamma'' (Ben Hecht and Maxwell Bodenheim)

References

External links

* * *
Quoth the Raven Poetry Circle , "From the Stacks" at New-York Historical Society
Extensive collection of Bodenheim's poetry *
memoir of Max Bodenheim by Dorothy DayHervey Allen Papers, 1831-1965, SC.1952.01, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Folder 22 contains Allen's correspondence with Bodenheim)
Michael Reid-Maxwell Bodenheim Collection
a
the Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodenheim, Maxwell 1892 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Mississippi Beggars Deaths by firearm in Manhattan American people of German descent People murdered in New York City Male murder victims American male novelists Burials at Cedar Park Cemetery (Emerson, New Jersey) American male non-fiction writers Federal Writers' Project people