--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was going to public school in the…" description: "\"I was going to public school in the post-World War II, the grey doldrum years. But I was in this extraordinary environment of Manhattan, of Greenwich V..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/anne-waldman-4046_bohemian_i-was-going-to-public-school-in-the-post_999158.png" --- # I was going to public school in the post-World War II, the… ![“I was going to public school in the post-World War II, the grey doldrum years. But I was in this extraordinary environment of Manhattan, of Greenwich Village, of bohemian parents.” quote by Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/anne-waldman-4046_bohemian_i-was-going-to-public-school-in-the-post_999158.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/anne-waldman-4046_bohemian_i-was-going-to-public-school-in-the-post_999158.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/anne-waldman-4046_bohemian_i-was-going-to-public-school-in-the-post_999158.png) > “I was going to public school in the post-World War II, the grey doldrum years. But I was in this extraordinary environment of Manhattan, of Greenwich Village, of bohemian parents.” [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Growing up amid bohemian culture in Manhattan offered a vibrant contrast to the dull, conformist post‑war school environment. **In simple terms:** Bohemian life contrasted with typical school life. Key Takeaway Seek creative communities for inspiration. Themes culture identity creativity rebellion Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal historical When to use this quote - college years - artistic collaborations - family gatherings - city exploration Key Concepts bohemianism post‑war America urban arts Questions to Reflect On - How did this environment shape your worldview? - What aspects of bohemian life felt limiting? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize bohemia, overlooking its hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bohemian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bohemian/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Greenwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenwich/) [Greenwich village](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenwich-village/) [Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grey/) [Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Public school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-school/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Village](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/village/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up in New York City in Greenwich Village and had parents who were somewhat bohemian so I was always on the nonconformist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-grew-up-in-new-york-city-in-greenwich-village-and-had-parents-who/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Franz Kline, who became known for his black and white paintings, did a whole series of gorgeous landscapes and wonderful portraits that may still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amram/franz-kline-who-became-known-for-his-black-and-white-paintings-did-a/) [David Amram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amram/) > [I hired Bob at Terrytoons. He was my assistant animator, and then became an animator himself. He had just come from Boston with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-bakshi/i-hired-bob-at-terrytoons-he-was-my-assistant-animator-and-then/) [Ralph Bakshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-bakshi/) > [I grew up in Greenwich Village. Dad was friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yancy-butler/i-grew-up-in-greenwich-village-dad-was-friends-with-john-lennon-and/) [Yancy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yancy-butler/) > [But in my imagination this whole thing developed and I started mixing up old folk songs with the Beatles beat and taking them down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcguinn/but-in-my-imagination-this-whole-thing-developed-and-i-started-mixing/) [Roger McGuinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcguinn/) > [I had literary interests my whole life. I decided at the age of five I was going to be a writer. So I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-had-literary-interests-my-whole-life-i-decided-at-the-age-of-five-i/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I started over again with an image: Nothing goes right. Then when The Godfather came out, all I heard was, Show respect. With me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-started-over-again-with-an-image-nothing-goes-right-then-when-the/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Celebrated in the Bob Dylan ballad 'Joey,' Crazy Joe Gallo was a charismatic beatnik gangster whose forays into Greenwich Village in the 1960s inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-folsom/celebrated-in-the-bob-dylan-ballad-joey-crazy-joe-gallo-was-a/) [Tom Folsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-folsom/) > [My father was a golden boy from a very small town. He won a very prestigious law scholarship to NYU Law School, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/my-father-was-a-golden-boy-from-a-very-small-town-he-won-a-very/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [This is unexposed film of Greenwich Village because nothing ever happens there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-unexposed-film-of-greenwich-village-because-nothing-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never felt at home. I stuck outIn New York City, especially in Greenwich Village, down among the cranks and the misfits and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mitchell/i-never-felt-at-home-i-stuck-outin-new-york-city-especially-in/) [Joseph Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mitchell/) > [My father took me back home, back to Greenwich Village, and he thought by taking me out of the orphanage he'd be out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/my-father-took-me-back-home-back-to-greenwich-village-and-he-thought/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [My background did not start with the East Side; it started with Greenwich Village, which is West Side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/my-background-did-not-start-with-the-east-side-it-started-with/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [These people, as far as I can see, do not congregate in the notorious centers of the movement, like the North Beach in San…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/these-people-as-far-as-i-can-see-do-not-congregate-in-the-notorious/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I always got a kick out of it when they called it the California Sound because it really came out of Liverpool and Greenwich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcguinn/i-always-got-a-kick-out-of-it-when-they-called-it-the-california/) [Roger McGuinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcguinn/) ## More by Anne Waldman > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ We pride ourselves at Natrona - I mean, pride {ironically\] - on developing a noncompetitive community. That's very important. The values that can come… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-pride-ourselves-at-natrona-i-mean-pride-ironically-on-developing-a/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [My father was a frustrated writer. I think he wanted to write the great American novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-father-was-a-frustrated-writer-i-think-he-wanted-to-write-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [No one begs you to be a poet or write a 1000-page poem. You have to be fueled by a drive, a conviction -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/no-one-begs-you-to-be-a-poet-or-write-a-1000-page-poem-you-have-to-be/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [For me there is a poesis, a poetics, around the trope of the road that is embedded within many life experiences of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/for-me-there-is-a-poesis-a-poetics-around-the-trope-of-the-road-that/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [There's a kind of training, when you are sitting in a session in the Japanese tradition or any of the Buddhist traditions, taking your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/there-s-a-kind-of-training-when-you-are-sitting-in-a-session-in-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I had parents who were attentive to what was going on politically. There was the Greek connection, a sense of a larger world. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-had-parents-who-were-attentive-to-what-was-going-on-politically/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [In a way, America's the shadow of everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I carry, no matter if I travel to the ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/in-a-way-america-s-the-shadow-of-everything-i-do-everywhere-i-go/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I look at my life there are these streams, these things that have continuity from the fifties to now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-look-at-my-life-there-are-these-streams-these-things-that-have/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [We humans need to do better with our vast minds and alchemical powers. Future radial poetries might be more symbiotic with the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-humans-need-to-do-better-with-our-vast-minds-and-alchemical-powers/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ I think anything that gets people outside \[is good\] - I'm a big supporter of public parks and public spaces. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-anything-that-gets-people-outside-is-good-i-m-a-big-supporter/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Idea that all the beats are wildly liberal and progressive is ridiculous. You have people thinking for themselves and having certain affinities because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/idea-that-all-the-beats-are-wildly-liberal-and-progressive-is/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I think of my father born in this very small, limited situation and then coming out of that. Many people have this story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-of-my-father-born-in-this-very-small-limited-situation-and/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I attended the Berkeley Poetry Conference in 1965, I was very inspired. The collaboration of many poets from these alternative traditions - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-attended-the-berkeley-poetry-conference-in-1965-i-was-very/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [One has to be cautious and respectful of the power of the "substance" guides. I don't advocate imbibing the "little saint children," as Maria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/one-has-to-be-cautious-and-respectful-of-the-power-of-the-substance/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) [Explore all 117 Anne Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## More Bohemian quotes > [My first job was in a Bohemian polka band, the Rejcek family polka band in Abbott. The old man in the band had another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/my-first-job-was-in-a-bohemian-polka-band-the-rejcek-family-polka/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [There's this whole post-modern, nuevo beatnik, retro-bohemian thing going on, you know what I mean? You walk into some coffee shops, and it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/there-s-this-whole-post-modern-nuevo-beatnik-retro-bohemian-thing/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [I grew up in a very bohemian environment in southern Sweden, so I was always, always, always in black jeans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-lindeberg/i-grew-up-in-a-very-bohemian-environment-in-southern-sweden-so-i-was/) [Johan Lindeberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-lindeberg/) > [Eclectic yet classic with a playful bohemian twist is how Id describe my style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-temperley/eclectic-yet-classic-with-a-playful-bohemian-twist-is-how-id-describe/) [Alice Temperley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-temperley/) > [Channel a bohemian state of mind with an effortless dress paired with a must have embroidered moto jacket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lubov-azria/channel-a-bohemian-state-of-mind-with-an-effortless-dress-paired-with/) [Lubov Azria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lubov-azria/) > [No one expects a Broadway musical comedy to be in the vanguard of what is bohemian, raunchy, folkloric, academic or aggressively experimental. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-jefferson/no-one-expects-a-broadway-musical-comedy-to-be-in-the-vanguard-of/) [Margo Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-jefferson/) > [I like to dress pretty basic during the day, but with a sophisticated bohemian spin, and sometimes a little rock chic. At night I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-ambrosio/i-like-to-dress-pretty-basic-during-the-day-but-with-a-sophisticated/) [Alessandra Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-ambrosio/) > [I love 'Somebody to Love' by Queen and of course 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is one of my favorites, just because it makes everyone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hill/i-love-somebody-to-love-by-queen-and-of-course-bohemian-rhapsody-is/) [Faith Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hill/) > [A lot of kids are moving to Baltimore, because we have a great music scene and we've got edge. Come on down, we've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/a-lot-of-kids-are-moving-to-baltimore-because-we-have-a-great-music/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [The Bohemian Grove, which I attend from time to time — it is the most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-bohemian-grove-which-i-attend-from-time-to-time-it-is-the-most/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [Originally, I was against gay marriage because I was opposed to all marriage, being an old-fashioned gay bohemian. The straight people I knew in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/originally-i-was-against-gay-marriage-because-i-was-opposed-to-all/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Art can help a town by attracting a certain Bohemian population that adds life to the bars, character to the streets and a buzz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/art-can-help-a-town-by-attracting-a-certain-bohemian-population-that/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [I was constantly being around artists and Bohemian types.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-dryden/i-was-constantly-being-around-artists-and-bohemian-types/) Spencer Dryden [Browse all 160 Bohemian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bohemian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was going to public school in the post-World War II, the grey doldrum years. 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