Beat Generation Writers

by A. Robert Lee

This collection focuses on icons of the Beat generation as well as lesser known figures, including Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, John Clellon Holmes, Herbert Huncke, LeRoi Jones (Imamu Amiri Baraka), Ted Joans and Bob Kaufman. It also includes an exploration of the role of women and gender through the work of writers such as Carolyn Cassady and Bonnie Bremser. Beat Generation Writers uncovers the key influences on the movement, such as Indian and Buddhist philosophy, the 1960s counterculture, the poetry of Emerson and Whitman, European trends, and the Modernist tradition.

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good collection of essays that brings up some interesting viewpoints regarding the construction and difference of gender in the Beat generation. It's sort of disappointing to me that while I read and enjoy Kerouac for his philosophies, he was ultimately pretty mysoginistic. That's something I missed while revering him as a writer. As sexually and creatively free as this literary movement was, women were still objectified enough to ensure that their work was not as widely circulated or acknowledged, and that they weren't respected on as high a level for it. I love Ginsberg, et. al., but I think a lot of respect is due to the ladies of this circle of writers as well. While men at this time were free to be rebellious and not be condemned for it by their families, etc., women experimenting with subverting societal (and gender) norms were often shipped off to madhouses, or "fixed" so they would conform.

Anyway, this book is another round of fascinating literature exploring gender differences and social constructs for me within my favorite group of writers. Very good ...