Artist's Statement: I make collages of beachtrash and vintage magazines. It started during a peaceful moment at a trashy Spanish beach where I put, without thought, some pieces of plastic together. This co-incidental finding led to my project TrashWorks. … [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 Cassady, best known for her relationships with husband … [Read more...]
The Invitation of the Mirror: Jonathan Lethem & Me, from the Margin to the Mainstream
Words and images by Jasun Horsley I recently had a podcast discussion with the author Jonathan Lethem. This connection has probably meant more to me than previous connections. For one thing, it’s been ongoing since the inception (very much was the … [Read more...]
Fully Aboard the Flesh Wagon: Tin House Writers Workshop, Summer 2014
About a week before his fortieth birthday, virgin poet Henri Frederic Amiel (1821-1881) recorded in his journal that he had “received a woman’s favors” at last. His world was not rocked. “Frankly, compared to what the imagination assumes or … [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 Dharma (1997). Strangely, or even tragically, it was … [Read more...]
Rain Poem
RAIN POEM the rain beats a rhythm against the windshield the wipers flail helplessly like a fish out of water demons to the left of me demons to the right of me demons in front of me demons in back of me my brain a barbecue … [Read more...]
At the Carnival of Drunken Poets
I ran into Kerouac at the carnival where those just dead meet those about to be reborn. He and I have wandered through the zodiac again and again, like prodigal suns. Both of us enter this carnival under the 13th sign, which is the sign of … [Read more...]
Dennis Hopper as Daniel Morgan in Mad Dog Morgan
The film Easy Rider (1969) made its director and star Dennis Hopper, and the film's producer and co-star Peter Fonda, counter-cultural icons of the late 1960s. The film's minuscule budget, roaring box office success, and critical acclaim paved the way for … [Read more...]
Summer’s Onslaught Edging Into May
SUMMER'S ONSLAUGHT EDGING INTO MAY Summer's onslaught edging into May bakes this swampy yard. Iced coffee levels out the day outside and the guest room has a bed and fan cool as petals on the water ...the mind is groggy old...it's true but no … [Read more...]
3 poems by Dennis Mahagin
Doc Williams’ 12-Step Blues so much, depending on a frayed flannel shirt with sleeves whacked off, burn marks, buttoned lopsided, sending prayers and good thoughts over the AA meeting gleaming steely urns of caffeine and a … [Read more...]
(Music Review) Music of the Sahara: Tinariwen’s new album Emmaar
In the early 1960s the creation of artificial borders in the trackless wastes of the Sahara desert might have been cause for celebration among the inhabitants of the newly created countries. However, the throwing off of colonial masters in Niger, Mali, … [Read more...]
Three poems by P R Kargaard
False Bay, San Juan Island In the autumn morning, the high thirds of the trees I know have vanished. Obscured by a sleepy fog. It is a way of being in pearl which seeps like a surface covering everything I know. I imagine that in the … [Read more...]
How to Publish Your Poetry – Some Advice
Though the focus of this article is on poets & poetry, many of the tips below are appropriate for writers of fiction and nonfiction as well. Where should I publish my poems? Finding the right places to submit your can be tricky. Here's where to look. … [Read more...]
Modern Photographer Emmet Gowin
When many people think of modern art, images of abstract paintings and impressive landscapes come to mind. However, art is not limited to merely what is painted on a canvas, but also what can be captured in a moment. Photography allows talented … [Read more...]
Music Review – An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer
There have been many great artistic couples down through the ages. Now a days there seems to be more celebrity couplings than any real co-joining of artistic talents. So when I first began to hear rumours writer Neil Gaiman and musician Amanda Palmer … [Read more...]
How to write an excellent book review query
So, your book is finished and you need to get the word out. You've found some book reviewers who you'd like to email. You're hoping they'll accept a copy of your book for possible review. But here's where it can get kind of tricky. Those reviewers are … [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, small press & poetry Beat booksellers The … [Read more...]
Six Poems by Patrick Mackay
Jack Spicer and the Loyalty Oath “The testing of a University faculty by oath is a stupid and insulting procedure. If this oath is to have the effect of eliminating Communists from the faculty, we might as logically eliminate murderers from the faculty … [Read more...]
The Naked Beat
The Love Electric's new video was filmed in New York City, Lisbon, Berlin, and Woodstock. You can get "The Naked Beat" here. About A Love Electric The Love Electric is a band that does things differently. An art rock trio of three … [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 exist To chip your granite ear? Are there sights such … [Read more...]
Once As a Child and Long Ago: Seven Poems
ONCE AS A CHILD AND LONG AGO Once as a child and long ago I was in love with the idea of junk with Peter Pan and Cheerios and the sacred high of the great TV and blue songs which Bob Dylan sang ...the morning! Mr tambourine ...to be … [Read more...]
A Loss of Innocence
Artist's statement: That art brings to expression a naked spirituality without any necessary basis in religion (though religious themes are a fine tool in art as well). My favorite art was done in the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century … [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 2013 In 1990, Jorge García-Robles, professor of … [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 Music Hall in Mill Valley, California, on September 12, … [Read more...]
6 Poems by Gloria Avner
End of the Sixties this sea this sky not the winding bumpy road past Ararat, down Khyber pass by folding bicycle fear survived Swat valley snowstorm rescue on the way to India to Himalayan hermit foothills flapping tattered flag whipped … [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. Using archival resources as the foundation of this … [Read more...]
Book Review – Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall
Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall by Dave Thompson / Backbeat Books / 978-1-61713-564-4 271 pages Music journalist Dave Thompson's new book Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall is an entertaining intro to the music of the former Pink Floyd front … [Read more...]
Book Review – T.C. Boyle Stories II
Stories II by T.C. Boyle / Viking / Penguin Group / 2013 / 978-0670026258 / 944 pages In some form or another the short story has probably been around as long as man has had the desire and the ability to communicate. Oral tales told around the fire at … [Read more...]
Review – Les Paul: The Lost Interviews by Jim O’Donnell
Les Paul: The Lost Interviews: Five Never-Before-Published Talks With a Guitar Genius by Jim O'Donnell / 978-1492218913 / 152 pages What comes to mind when you hear the name "Les Paul"? Maybe the iconic guitar, launched at the dawn of rock and roll and … [Read more...]
Post-Zen, a reflection for Reilly
When you were put away your car had a half a tank of gas. This surprised me, because I had only ever seen you put five dollars in at a time. While you drove I would watch the dial on the odometer slowly turn as we ate up every tenth of a mile. After … [Read more...]
10 public speaking tips for writers
Writers often work in solitude. But when it's time to do a reading or a book signing, or to give a presentation or speech, you're no longer in your own environment, and the nerves can really kick in! Do you dread public speaking? Here's how to alleviate … [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 attending Columbia University, Allen Ginsberg became … [Read more...]
I Kissed You with Sparrows
We are kissing each other on the lips while hitting Love and wobbling around only the walls are barricade to our lust. Your mouth is beginning with a damp alphabet a red butterfly settled on your face. Look dear, sparrows are flapping in my rib … [Read more...]
Two Poems by Alessandra Bava
APRES NOUS, LE CHAOS (to Lawrence Ferlinghetti) In the bookstore the voice slowly uncurls some pages of life, revealing Allen's loss: "There is a HUGE HOLE in the sky" - That … [Read more...]
Two Poems by Lorne Daniel
Island Fall “to redefine is not always to lose” - Stephen Dunn I am buoyed by the slowness of change on this island, this autumn, the Garry Oak leaves crinkling, painted with heavy dew but holding fast well beyond this prairie … [Read more...]
Book Review – Erik Verhaar’s Andalusian Dogging
Andalusian Dogging by Erik Verhaar, translated by Jonathan Ellis / The Reception Game / 2013 / 17 pages In Erik Verhaar's short story, inspired by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali's 1929 film An Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou), the film itself becomes a … [Read more...]
Review – Let’s Start a Pussy Riot
Let's Start a Pussy Riot, edited by Emely Neu and Jade French / Rough Trade / June 2013 / 978-0957626201 On February 21, 2012 members of the Russian feminist performance art group/collective Pussy Riot put on an agit-prop performance in a priests only … [Read more...]
Photography: Verboten by Samy Sfoggia
The photographic series titled Verboten (“Prohibited”) is focused on characters that usually are called "outsiders". Verboten consists of staged photographs that are based on 1920s criminal mugshots. The images were captured with a film camera (a Zorki-C … [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 previous books, which include Mad to be Saved: The Beats, … [Read more...]
I Am San Francisco
I have witnessed the waterfront decay the ships disappear the piers given over to tourists and sunbathing sea lions Gone the Haight Theater in the old Haight Ashbury where as a kid I paid a dime to see two movies a serial and a … [Read more...]
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