Beat Generation books/ authors

[Godzilla]

During the fall and part of the winter I got really into Beat Generation literature. I read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs and a ton of Alan Ginsburg poetry. I'm planning on reading The Electric Kool-aid test or whatever by Tom Wolfe soon, is there anything else anyone would suggest? Anyone else LOVE beat generation stuff? There's just a beautiful rhythm and sincerity and openness to the whole beat style that I just love, they have a real appreciation for the written word that sometimes gets lost in modern writing, or writing like Capote's that's just heartless facts and recounting of events. Writing like that lacks spirit.

 

[Bluenote]

During the fall and part of the winter I got really into Beat Generation literature. I read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs and a ton of Alan Ginsburg poetry. I'm planning on reading The Electric Kool-aid test or whatever by Tom Wolfe soon, is there anything else anyone would suggest? Anyone else LOVE beat generation stuff? There's just a beautiful rhythm and sincerity and openness to the whole beat style that I just love, they have a real appreciation for the written word that sometimes gets lost in modern writing, or writing like Capote's that's just heartless facts and recounting of events. Writing like that lacks spirit.

Read the rest of Kerouac i.e. The Dharma Bums, The Subteraneans, Visions of Cody,Big Sur, desolation Angels etc. Along with his collaborative effort with Burroughs " And the Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks" .Don't miss the rest of Burroughs work , The Soft Parade , Junkie , Queer ( which inspired John Rechy) Nova Express , The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, and his '80s work , Cities of The Red Night , The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands.


These will of course lead you to people like Gary Snyder , Anthony Burgess ( though he's not strictly "beat" he was heavily influenced by Burroughs , read A Clockwork Orange) Alan Watts and certain other writers on Zen , folks like Richard Brautigan and many others , along with of course Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky.

Various others were heavily influenced by Burroughs including Gibson and Phillip K. Dick.

Might want to read Billy Burroughs novels ( Burroughs son , long dead of cirrhosis) and Kerouacs daughter Jan Kerouac ( Baby Driver).


And if you continue to read the Beats , sooner or later you'll be influenced into a mad rippling whipping foot to the firewall dash across the asphalt rivers of America , fueling yourself on bad coffee as you watch the interplay between the lot lizards and thr truckers in a 3 a.m. feeding frenzy at a truckstop in Amarillo or Akron , getting those holloweyed looks from the locals in a locals only eatery in Minot , running hell bent for election for the Fla line because you just blew a red light in Valdosta and you've come clear across the country on no drivers license........

But you'll remember those asphalt rivers of the night for the rest of your life.





B.

 

[Bluenote]

Some more that I should have put in the other post.


Lawrence Ferlinghetti ( owner founder of The City Lights Bookstore)

Eric Nord ( Big Daddy..himself and a great poet)

Ken Kesey of course ( who originated the Acid Test and the Merry Pranksters in the old La Honda days)


Amiri Baraka

Gregory Corso ( both of these are primarily poets)


Michael McClure


Lew Welch

Dianne Di Prima

Elise Cowen


Puffer Volpe


Slim Brundage

Joyce Johnson


Richard Brautigan ( who I mentioned in the previous post)


And I'll doubtlessly remember others.........




B.

 

[jaybe]

Godzilla quote - '' Anyone else LOVE beat generation stuff? There's just a beautiful rhythm and sincerity and openness to the whole beat style that I just love,''

I'd agree with you if you were just talking about Jack Kerouac's style. Have you heard him read his work? His voice is wonderful.

I'd say the others were different. Each having his own style (or lack of).


Bluenote - there are many names you've not dropped. I don't think you need to copy and paste any more though.

 

[Bluenote]

Godzilla quote - '' Anyone else LOVE beat generation stuff? There's just a beautiful rhythm and sincerity and openness to the whole beat style that I just love,''

I'd agree with you if you were just talking about Jack Kerouac's style. Have you heard him read his work? His voice is wonderful.

I'd say the others were different. Each having his own style (or lack of).


Bluenote - there are many names you've not dropped. I don't think you need to copy and paste any more though.

Excuse me? Sorry but I don't copy and paste , and I don't "drop names" so your rather supercilious postulation is in error , I had thought that this was a forum for free discussion of literature. Since of course you deem what folks may post then I'll bow out.



B.

 

[Libra]

Excuse me? Sorry but I don't copy and paste , and I don't "drop names" so your rather supercilious postulation is in error , I had thought that this was a forum for free discussion of literature. Since of course you deem what folks may post then I'll bow out.



B.

It is,and you should not bow out. and explain Beat Generation to me.

 

[Godzilla]

Read the rest of Kerouac i.e. The Dharma Bums, The Subteraneans, Visions of Cody,Big Sur, desolation Angels etc. Along with his collaborative effort with Burroughs " And the Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks" .Don't miss the rest of Burroughs work , The Soft Parade , Junkie , Queer ( which inspired John Rechy) Nova Express , The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, and his '80s work , Cities of The Red Night , The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands.


These will of course lead you to people like Gary Snyder , Anthony Burgess ( though he's not strictly "beat" he was heavily influenced by Burroughs , read A Clockwork Orange) Alan Watts and certain other writers on Zen , folks like Richard Brautigan and many others , along with of course Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky.

Various others were heavily influenced by Burroughs including Gibson and Phillip K. Dick.

Might want to read Billy Burroughs novels ( Burroughs son , long dead of cirrhosis) and Kerouacs daughter Jan Kerouac ( Baby Driver).


And if you continue to read the Beats , sooner or later you'll be influenced into a mad rippling whipping foot to the firewall dash across the asphalt rivers of America , fueling yourself on bad coffee as you watch the interplay between the lot lizards and thr truckers in a 3 a.m. feeding frenzy at a truckstop in Amarillo or Akron , getting those holloweyed looks from the locals in a locals only eatery in Minot , running hell bent for election for the Fla line because you just blew a red light in Valdosta and you've come clear across the country on no drivers license........

But you'll remember those asphalt rivers of the night for the rest of your life.





B.

Yeah I deffinately have to get around to reading the rest of Kerouac's works, I checked out And the Hippos Were Boiled in their Tanks like the last time I was at the book store, but I just had too many other books to read at the time, otherwise I would have bought it, it looks sweet!
I don't know if I'd consider Anthony Burgess as beat, he's just so... russian, the beat movement feels very American, but I've already read like a ton of his work and am in love with him (and spent like two weeks talking in only Clockwork Orange slang lol). I forgot about Peter Ovlorvsky though, I should check him out, what did he write that was good?
The last part I might end up doing this summer actually, my friend whom I read On the Road with is going coast to coast on a road trip and I might just have to ride the "asphalt rivers"

Godzilla quote - '' Anyone else LOVE beat generation stuff? There's just a beautiful rhythm and sincerity and openness to the whole beat style that I just love,''

I'd agree with you if you were just talking about Jack Kerouac's style. Have you heard him read his work? His voice is wonderful.

Yeah like you haven't actually experienced his writing until you hear him read it, then after that it's like impossible to read it and not hear it in his voice. It's like the difference between seeing the london phillharmonic and reading sheet music.