Anyone care about the Beats?
Craig Saila - JOUR/F94
discussion on the Beat Generation. There was a proposal to start a Beat
sub-group, but nothing further arose out of it. There seems to be no
article posting concerning this writing period, either.
I find it it hard to believe that no one has any interest about Jack Kerouac,
William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and the others.
Is it true? Does no one really care about this guys any more?
If anyone is interested in discussion, please post here, or e-mail me.
Thanks.
Craig (csa...@acs.ryerson.ca)
:)}
BTW, anyone know details about present-day Lowell, Mass. in relation to Jack
Kerouac, i.e. grave, church, homes, and other locales.
Jim Purcell
>>I have been searching the net for a few months now, looking for
discussion on the Beat Generation. There was a proposal to start
a Beat
sub-group, but nothing further arose out of it. There seems to
be no
article posting concerning this writing period, either.<<
I just read "Big Sur" this summer, my first extended exposure to
Kerouac. It seems that his imagination was restricted to thinking
up fictional names for his pals, but his ability to evoke time
and place are remarkable. The "Sea" poem at the end of the book
was absolutely unreadable.
I saw Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti in a
reading at my college nearly twenty years ago. It was a major
event on campus (this was in North Dakota). Corso was very
obnoxious--he kept shouting down the other two when they tried to
read--but when he got up to read himself, he was spellbinding.
It's cheap and easy to say that Ginsberg is a latter-day Whitman,
but compare "Howl" to any part of "Song of Myself" and it's easy
to believe that Ginsberg found Whitman and stopped reading. Of
course, Whitman didn't get $1M for his archives...
--
Jim Purcell
73063...@compuserve.com
Barbara O'Brien
: I have been searching the net for a few months now, looking for
: sub-group, but nothing further arose out of it. There seems to be no
: article posting concerning this writing period, either.
: I find it it hard to believe that no one has any interest about Jack Kerouac,
: William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and the others.
: Is it true? Does no one really care about this guys any more?
: If anyone is interested in discussion, please post here, or e-mail me.
I'm not up for a discussion. However, there is some interest in Kerouac
et al. in American Buddhist circles, particularly in the Zen and Tibetan
groups. Tricycle magazine (a Buddhist quarterly) has been anthologizing
Kerouac's _Wake Up_. Ginsburg makes regular appearances at Buddhist
gatherings -- I saw him this summer in Central Park with some lamas --
and has conducted several poetry workshops at my Zen temple/monastery in
recent years. I don't know if he has any more scheduled.
Kerouac's friend Gary Snyder is still writing and has produced wonderful
poetry, as well as a book on the environment that I can't remember the
same of. Maybe someone else will.
Regards,
B.
Scott Horst
Jim Purcell <73063...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>Craig Saila (csa...@acs.ryerson.ca) inquires:
>
>>>I have been searching the net for a few months now, looking for
>discussion on the Beat Generation. There was a proposal to start
>a Beat
>sub-group, but nothing further arose out of it. There seems to
>be no
>article posting concerning this writing period, either.<<
>
>I just read "Big Sur" this summer, my first extended exposure to
>Kerouac. It seems that his imagination was restricted to thinking
>up fictional names for his pals, but his ability to evoke time
>and place are remarkable. The "Sea" poem at the end of the book
>was absolutely unreadable.
>
James Duncan, but give Jack a chance! BIG SUR is perhaps his most
depressing, alcohol-soaked book. See if you like THE DHARMA BUMS or ON
THE ROAD before you write off Kerouac.
--
Scott Horst | sho...@nyx10.cs.du.edu
Levi Asher
: depressing, alcohol-soaked book. See if you like THE DHARMA BUMS or ON
: THE ROAD before you write off Kerouac.
Yes, I care about the Beats a lot -- check out my Web site on Kerouac
and Ginsberg at http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/LitKicks.html.
I agree that Big Sur is a bad book to start on Kerouac with, thought it
works well as autobiography. You might want to try the first section of
Visions of Cody if you want to read some real bang-up good writing.
Or On The Road.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Levi Asher = broo...@netcom.com
Creator of Literary Kicks, the Jack Kerouac/Allen Ginsberg WWW Site
URL : http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/LitKicks.html
".... Believe it if you need it, if you don't just pass it on ...."
-- "Box Of Rain"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Purcell
>>Kerouac's friend Gary Snyder is still writing and has produced
wonderful
poetry, as well as a book on the environment that I can't
remember the
same of. Maybe someone else will.<<
"Axe Handles" is one of my favorite poems ever. Every time one of
my male friends has a child, I give him a copy of the book of the
same name. Nobody has ever complained.
--
Jim Purcell
73063...@compuserve.com
SPARKS
quite a few
interesting places to see there. There is a memorial park with
poems
and selections from the novels etched into stone. There is
Kerouac's grave
which used to be cluttered with empty bottles of wine, guitar
picks, vivarin,
and trash, although it has been notably cleaner on recent
visits. One of the
most interesting places, though, is the Grotto, a memorial to
the Stations
of the Cross that Kerouac used to meditate at. In the past, it
has been
lit up at night, with somewhat eerie, somewhat cheesy blue
lights. Once a
year, Lowell tries to muster some type of a commemorative
event, and
Burroughs, Corso, and Ginsberg have all been spotted. Lowell
does not
seem to have any sort of literary community, though. It's
still blue collar,
only now the economic difficulties the city has faced makes it
a drab
place to live. Feel free to ask more questions if you have
them.
Jim Purcell
>>Jim, I agree with your (I think it was you) excellent comments
on David
James Duncan, but give Jack a chance! BIG SUR is perhaps his most
depressing, alcohol-soaked book. See if you like THE DHARMA BUMS
or ON
THE ROAD before you write off Kerouac.<<
Thanks for your kind words. "Big Sur" wasn't a fun-filled book,
to be sure, but it was well worth reading. When I say that it
lacked imagination, I don't mean to write off Kerouac. As I also
said, his ability to evoke a time and place are remarkable.
Kerouac's life, by all accounts, was pretty much out of control,
and "Big Sur" reflects all of that. I just wish he had used
people's real names and called the book a memoir.
Anyway, I'm glad he was such a good observer, his inebriated
state notwithstanding. And I will read more of him, tho maybe not
his poetry. Thanks for reminding me.
--
Jim Purcell
73063...@compuserve.com
Trish Rucker
>Craig Saila (csa...@acs.ryerson.ca) inquires:
>>>I have been searching the net for a few months now, looking for
>discussion on the Beat Generation. There was a proposal to start
>a Beat
>sub-group, but nothing further arose out of it. There seems to
>be no
>article posting concerning this writing period, either.<<
I am a great fan of the Beats - particularly Corso ("Marriage"
is an incredible poem) and Ginsberg. If anyone forms a Beat
maillist or sub-group, *please* let me know.
I'm also interested in the Confessional poets, if anyone else
would care to discuss them.
--
PLEASE NOTE: Until Jan. 1995, I will have limited time to
spend on Internet. I will answer all personal
e-mail in the New Year. Happy Holidays!
**************************************************************
Trish Rucker Writing and Editing
Internet: tri...@mind.ORG Tutoring (literature and
Atlanta, GA composition, ESL, developmental
studies, test preparation - SAT,
Regent's Test, GRE)
**************************************************************
--
mind.org 404/659-5720 404/521-0445 Public Access Unix in Atlanta
Neophytos Iacovou
>: If anyone is interested in discussion, please post here, or e-mail me.
WSB is due with a book out in a few days (its due in January but may be
here during the last week of December). It is called _My Education_
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neophytos Iacovou Distributed Computing Services
University of Minnesota 100 Union St. SE
email: iac...@boombox.micro.umn.edu Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
DKeiger
Jack Warner
I just wish he had used
: people's real names and called the book a memoir.
: --
: Jim Purcell
: 73063...@compuserve.com
You definitely need to read some more Kerouac. It's true that his
portrayal of Neal Cassady as Dean Moriarity in "On the Road" made him a
star, but there's much, much more to him than that.
He's not the first good writer to use the people around him to give them
something to write about. Henry Miller comes to mind.
Jack
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In American politics you ask the rich for money and the poor for votes and
expect them both to believe you. A. Lincoln
----------- Jack Warner jwa...@freenet.columbus.oh.us ----------------------
porter hall
Speaking of _On The Road_, I hear there are elements in Hollywood
(Coppolla?) who are going to do justice to the book in film. Supposedly,
all of the young, pretty boys are interested in the parts.
Call me cynical, but I predict an immense artistic failure. I don't think
anyone in Hollywood knows the difference between 'Beat' and 'beatnik'.
Hopefully they'll find room in the movie for Bob Denver to make a cameo.
--
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Porter B. Hall California State University, Northridge
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