Beatnik The origin of "beat" is as a word of oral usage, closer to experience; in its meaning of "beat down" it suggests the being as defeated or battered down. It points toward a certain … [Read more...]
Beat Generation Authors, Poets & Artists
Here you'll find everything relating to the Beat Generation - biographies of the writers, poets, artists, and other players; interviews, book reviews, photo galleries, and more.
The sardonic pilgrimage of Jack Kerouac
The works of Jack Kerouac constitute a rich branch of the American literary tradition, which -- through the craftiness of such important writers, like Kerouac himself -- managed to escape the swamp of … [Read more...]
A Few Far-Flung Fragments of Forgotten Kerouaciana
There are still a few odd jottings and stray scribbles from the pen of Jack Kerouac – elusive bits and bobs published during the author’s lifetime – that remain unrecorded in bibliographies and/or … [Read more...]
Book Review — Wait Til I’m Dead: Uncollected Poems by Allen Ginsberg
Wait Till I'm Dead: Uncollected Poems by Allen Ginsberg (Bill Morgan, ed.) / Grove Press / hardcover When I first heard about this book of uncollected poems by Allen Ginsberg, I imagined a slim … [Read more...]
My meeting with Paul Bowles in Tangier, 1980
In June of 1980 my manuscript submission had won me a place in the School of Visual Arts pilot program of study with writer/composer Paul Bowles in Tangier, Morocco. At the time of my acceptance … [Read more...]
A.D. Winans Remembers Bob Kaufman
Bob Kaufman, known in France as the American Rimbaud, was one of the original Beat poets to come out of the Fifties. He is rightfully regarded as one of the most influential black poets of his era, … [Read more...]
Neal and Carolyn Cassady’s house at 29 Russell St., San Francisco
It’s been about ten years now since I saw Beat legends Neal and Carolyn Cassady’s house. It was such a thrill for me; I can remember it perfectly. My old friends Kirstin and Colin, from Alaska had … [Read more...]
For Beat’s Sake: An Interview with Carolyn Cassady
We all live inside history, and Carolyn Cassady has seen her share. Ms. Cassady was gracious and open when she sat for an interview at her home in Monte Sereno, not far from Los Gatos. Carolyn … [Read more...]
Remembering poet David Gitin
It is with a numbed sense of great personal loss that I report the passing on June 27th of David Gitin: poet, educator, and polymath. As Gloria Avner lovingly phrased it (his long-lost teenage … [Read more...]
October Ghost
The smudged days of October—when my mood is hand in hand with the weather—remind me of Jack Kerouac. He died in October, on the 21st, and the anniversary of that day always comes and goes like a local … [Read more...]
Sinclair Beiles: A Man Apart
Sinclair Beiles was a South African writer associated with the Beat movement of the late 50s and early 60s. During the time of his earliest successes, he moved from South Africa to Paris, to live with … [Read more...]
The Howl Hat
My friend Sylvain went to San Francisco recently and brought us back some souvenirs as gifts. One of the places he'd visited on his trip had been City Lights Books. He brought me a t-shirt from there. … [Read more...]
Some Kind of Dharma: Photographs
“to just start at the beginning and let the truth seep out” Grant Street, San Francisco, 2009 You can quite intentionally make a Beat pilgrimage in San Francisco, soaking in the aura, the … [Read more...]
Book Review – Kenton Crowther’s Kerouac on the Binge
Kenton Crowther's latest short e-book, a 3200-word essay titled Kerouac on the Binge (perhaps rather indelicately), is not an in-depth study of the author and his work, but rather the thoughtful … [Read more...]
The Road Toward Visions of Cody
In March 2015, Jack Kerouac's masterpiece, Visions of Cody, will be reprinted by Library of America (along with Visions of Gerard and Big Sur). Edited by Todd Tietchen, the novel has been extensively … [Read more...]
Vast Regions from Nowhere: Paul Bowles, Unfathered Authors, Mother-Bonded Sons
“I think that having spent my life trying to hide everything from everyone, I’ve ended up by no longer being able to find many things myself. Seriously.” —Paul Bowles, 1975 The Core “Other people’s … [Read more...]
Jack Kerouac’s “Strange Cemetery in Jamaica”
--- from a work-in-progress, I, Duluoz!: An Appreciation of Jack Kerouac If I had to pick my favorite poem of Jack Kerouacʼs, it would be “Strange Cemetery in Jamaica” published in Some of the … [Read more...]
An interview on Jack Kerouac and Library of America
March 2015 will mark the occasion of the publication of the third volume of Jack Kerouac works published by Library of America. I took this occasion to catch up with editor, Todd Tietchen, assistant … [Read more...]
The Great Consciousness of Life
Reaching in, pulling out. The great divide is conquered; and there lies an ever-evolving mission to extract meaning from chaos. This, then, is where it resides, the theater of the soul and the … [Read more...]
Wordsworth and the Beats: The Longevity of Influence
Although William Wordsworth once stated that he was “not a critic” and, in fact, “set little value upon the art” (Leitch 556), in his “Preface to Lyrical Ballads” he nevertheless proposed and … [Read more...]
Calling on Paul Bowles: Tangier, Morocco, August 1979
Calling on Paul Bowles Tangier, Morocco, August 1979 ”There it is,” someone says, and in the darkness, in the distance, you can see Tangier sprawled across several hills, a white city … [Read more...]
October in the Railroad Earth – Jack Kerouac
Every October, I think of Jack Kerouac's short story, "October in the Railroad Earth." Jack recorded it for his album with Steve Allen, Poetry For The Beat Generation; take a listen … [Read more...]
Aural Dialectics: On Allen Ginsberg’s Musical Rendition of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience
William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789) is a collection of illuminated poems separated into two groupings, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, that engage with their … [Read more...]
Paul Maher Jr. considers Kerouac’s Haunted Life
The Haunted Life and Other Writings / Da Capo Press / March 11, 2014 / 208 pp. Seventy years ago, in May 1944, Jack Kerouac toiled over a novella-length work set in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was … [Read more...]
Kerouac Before the Jazz: a review of “The Haunted Life”
There are some great lost manuscripts in American literature and some are truly lost. Ernest Hemingway famously lost the only draft of the first short stories he ever wrote on a French train. Most … [Read more...]
Interview – Paul Maher Jr., author of Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road
Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's On the Road is an accurate, up-to-date, meticulously researched account of how Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel, On the Road came to be … [Read more...]
David Handley interviews Paul Rogers about his work & the On the Road illustrations
Chances are that if I said the names Sal Paradise, Dean Moriarty or Carlo Marx that you would already know a couple of things about them. You’d know that I was talking about the generation defining … [Read more...]
Jim Morrison and Jack Kerouac
“If he (Jack Kerouac) hadn’t written On The Road, The Doors never would have existed.” — Ray Manzarek Manzarek might have added that if Jack Kerouac hadn’t written On The Road, none of … [Read more...]
For collectors: where and how to buy Beat Generation books (and others)
We've gathered together booksellers, publishers, and other services for book collectors of all stripes. Please get in touch if you'd like to suggest a resource for this list. Booksellers - Beat, … [Read more...]
Two Songs for Samson: An Invective Poem for Carl Solomon
Two Songs for Samson (an invective poem) for Carl Solomon Where goes your nose, Old Sam? How mighty a germ that nestled there Could cause so mighty a blow? Does a note so dissonant … [Read more...]
Review – The Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in Mexico
The Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in Mexico by Jorge García-Robles, translated by Daniel C. Schechter / University of Minnesota Press / paperback / 978-0816680634 / 176 pages / October … [Read more...]
In Honor of Michael McClure’s Birthday
Today, October 20, is Michael McClure's birthday. Here are a few videos to celebrate! Michael McClure, Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman, Jay Lane, & Jason Crosby From a performance at the Sweetwater … [Read more...]
Excerpt from Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road
Editor's note: Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's On the Road is an accurate, up-to-date account of the development of Jack Kerouac's groundbreaking 1957 novel, On the Road. … [Read more...]
Beat Generation film – Kill Your Darlings trailer released!
Kill Your Darlings dramatizes an actual event that took place in 1944, as the writers who would later be identified with the Beat Generation became embroiled in a murder that made headlines. While … [Read more...]
Review – The Beats: A Very Short Introduction by David Sterritt
The Beats: A Very Short Introduction by David Sterritt / Oxford University Press / 978-0-19-979677-9 / 126 pages David Sterritt's work might be familiar to Beat or film aficionados through his … [Read more...]
Charged Vision: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg
The photographs of Allen Ginsberg recently were on display at the Jewish Contemporary Museum in San Francisco. Walking through the museum is like going on a jaunt through Beat History. A spritely Jack … [Read more...]
John J. Dorfner on Jack Kerouac’s Induction into the Rocky Mount Hall of Fame
John J. Dorfner is the author of two books on Jack Kerouac, Kerouac: Visions of Lowell and Kerouac: Visions of Rocky Mount. In them, he delves into Kerouac's life in Lowell, Massachusetts, and in … [Read more...]
The Beat Generation vs. “Beatniks”
"Beatnik" is sometimes - incorrectly - used to describe to the Beat Generation writers and artists. We're going to straighten out the confusion for you! Here's an explanation of who the Beats were, … [Read more...]
In honor of ruth weiss on her 85th birthday
The following is from: “ruth weiss and the American Beat movement of the ‘50s and 60’s” by Horst Spandler, published in: ruth weiss, no dancing aloud – lautes tanzen nicht erlaubt. edition exil, … [Read more...]
Celebrating Allen Ginsberg’s birthday with a few videos
In honor of Allen Ginsberg's birthday (June 3, 1926), we've gathered a few videos together. We've got some poetry for you, a chant, and an interview or two. What are your favorite Ginsberg … [Read more...]
