We felt like we had to start at the beginning. And so, like children, we shut the door behind us, pulled out our gameboard, and played the game of life. So says Ann Powers of the young bohemian community of San Francisco that she lived in roughly a decade and a half ago. Powers acknowledges that there is no exact definition of bohemia exists but by default describes bohemians as those who live by values not usually associated with the mainstream of society. She also stresses repeatedly that one of the book's central points is that even those that tend to formally scorn that which rests outside the mainstream are now a bit intrigued by what they see there.
Powers certainly makes it easy to see the attraction.
The chapter on San Francisco in the mid eighties tells of people who were trying to build a real family and a real community. And it should go without saying that while the sexual and drug undergrounds that she describes repulse some, that the pure hedonism of these subcultures is attractive and enthralls at least an equal number of people. Powers is smart enough to not present bohemia sans its complexities. One fascinating chapter in the book looks at Powers' tenure as an employee at Planet Records in San Francisco. In order to make up for this situation, employee theft was rampant.