Beat Voices: An Anthology of Beat Poetry

by David Kherdian (Editor)

"With the resurgence of interest in the Beats comes this timely anthology of both poetry and prose selections.... The volume introduces the ambivalence of the age and would make a welcome gift not only for teenagers, but for their parents, as well."--Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1995

Reviews

[Wardegus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book wandering my high school library when I was a kid. It was my first exposure to Beat anything and I loved it. It's the reason my armpits are hairy and I don't trust government.

[Sparrow .]

I love Beat poetry (or maybe I just love this editor, with his den mother-like talent for choosing cogent & positively angular poems from among the tenement babble)! There’s only a few losers in this bunch: Lenore Kandel, Richard McBride, Bill Margolis (all in the West Coast section). Allen Ginsberg stands out as demonstratively better than everyone; the Ferlinghetti excerpt from “Autobiography” is surprisingly derivative. And aren’t some of these people actually New York School: Kenward Elmslie, Ron Padgett? Gary Snyder & Philip Whalen are a different species than everyone else – and even Lew Welch – like the distinction between synthetic cubism and analytic. They are BUILDING, not just complaining and praying. (That’s my theory, Beat is mostly complaint and spiritual demand – usually in a list form.)

Opening at random:

He didn’t look at me as he talked, just gazed out the window and spoke, incredibly fast, his mustache flecked with beer, his hands moving from mouth to glass to collar to table like a flight of skittery birds, and all the time his voice spewing out words in a sort of discordant rhyme that after a while assumed the rhythm of a litany, like “Yeah the lights all right if you’re lookin’ for light but you gotta see the night all right the sunshine’s fine if you gotta dime…”

[From The Frisco Kid by Jerry Kamstra]

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great anthology/primer to Beat Poetry - gives you a little bit of everything and it's not too overwhelming... a great jumping off place if you want to learn about the Beat generation

[marciluna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me in highschool by my English teacher for our poetry club, I think it includes a diverse group of poets, some local and some not. Some poems I could connect with and thoroughly enjoy— it’s a solid collection.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic short anthology with Diane di Prima, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, and others. The introduction is an excellent overview of the times.

[Konstantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

cool to see a few lesser known or obscure names featured