March 2009
Women of the Beat Generation
When I think about the turbulent, passionate, revolutionary, intense times and lives of the Beat Poets, I think about Kerouac, Ginsberg, Cassady, and Burroughs (among many others).
What about the women who were a part of the movement?
For the March 2009 book display, to learn more about the women who inspired, and were a part of the Beat Generation, I read the book:
Women of the Beat Generation
by Brenda Knight
Call #: PS 508 .W7 W66 2000,
————————————————————————————————————————–
For information about the Beat Generation,
the following titles are on display:
The Beat Generation
Call #: REF. PS 228 .B6 Z68 2003 Vol. 1
This three volume set includes a wealth of information about the Beat Generation, with an entry on Women Beat Poets in volume 1. Unlike usual reference books that just report on a topic, these volumes actually include interviews, photos, and snippets from magazine/journal/newspaper articles. If you have an interest in this topic, I’d definately start here!
Rolling Stone Book of the Beats
Call #: PS228.B6 R65 1999
Library Journal- “A celebration of Beat culture in words and pictures,” this collection looks at the Beat Generation’s influence on popular art and culture, especially rock’n'roll. The book is organized into six parts: an opening section documents the birth of the Beat Generation; separate sections are devoted to Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs; one section covers minor beat writers; and a concluding section examines the Beat Generation’s legacy. Articles include reprinted interviews and reviews from Rolling Stone along with newly commissioned pieces by Carolyn Cassady, Hettie Jones, and David Amram, among others…”
Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men
Call #: PS536 .F45
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Mad to be Saved
Call #: PS228.B6 S755 1998
Description- “Film critic David Sterritt presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the Beat Generation, its intersections with main-stream and experimental film, and the interactions of all of these with American society and the culture of the 1950s. Sterritt balances the Beat countercultural goal of rebellion through both artistic creation and everyday behavior against the mainstream values of conformity and conservatism, growing worry over cold-war hostilities, and the “rat race” toward material success.”
————————————————————————————————————————–
For the women mentioned in the book,
we have the following titles on display:
Denise Levertov
*Most of Denise Levertov’s books of poetry begin with the call # PR 6023 .E88 -
*about Denise Levertov- PS 3562 .E8876 D4 1993
*Contains poetry by Denise Levertov: Art/Women California- N 8354 .A73 2002
- About Denise Levertov:
- “Indeed, Denise’s development and poetry stands alone and is difficult to categorize in its widely divergent styles, themes, and influences” (p. 208).
- -Quoted from: Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Carolyn Cassady
*Forward by Carolyn CassadyAs Ever- PS 3513 .I74 Z542
- “Wife, mother, writer, painter, breadwinner, and muse, Carolyn Cassady remains a pivotal figure in the turbulent world of the Beats. She spend fourteen years on and off with the legendary Neal Cassady, a man who exemplified the Beat lifestyle with his cross-country road adventures, voracious appetites and energy, and penchant for drugs” (p.57).
- Quoted from: Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Joyce Johnson
* Minor Characters- PS 3560 .O3795 Z47
- “Joyce Johnson’s ironically titled Minor Characters was the first book to focus upon specifically Beat women. Joyce was Jack Kerouac’s lover during 1957 and 1958, the two crucial years that brought the Beat Generation into public awareness” (p.167).
- Quoted from: Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Anne Waldman
*Makeup on Empty Space- PS 3573 .A4215 M3
- “Anne Waldman is a poet orator, her body is an instrument for vocalization, her voice a trembling flame rising out of a strong body, her texts the accurate energetic fine notations of words with spoken music latent in mindful arrangement on the page” (p.287).
- -Allen Ginsberg- as printed in Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Jane Bowles
*One of the essays/chapters is on Jane Bowles: Portraits and observations: The essays of Truman Capote- PS 3505 .A59 Z473 2007
Barbara Guest
*Collected Poems of Barbara Guest- PS 3513 .U44 2008
- About Barbara Guest:
- “Both Hettie Jones and Diane di Prima were impressed by the newcomer, whose poems were strikingly original with a clarity and intelligence well matched to the brand-new Beats” (p. 125).-Quoted from Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Josephine Miles
*Josephine Miles edited this book of poetry: The Poem- PR 1175 M45
*Josephine Miles- Collected Poems- PS3525.I4835 A6
- About Josephine Miles-
- “The great professor of English, Dr. Joesphine Miles inspired more than just her students. Her impact upon the literary world was not bound by the walls of her classroom. It ranged from the board of directors at the National Endowment for the Arts to a struggling Beat poet searching for publication…” (p. 39).
- Quoted from: Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight
Joanne Kyger
*California Video- N 6512.5 .V53 C35 2008
- “Joanne Kyger began writing in the mid- 1950s, composing poems that surveyed her world with a sharp eye and deft precision. With taut lines, innovative phrasing, and shapely breath, the facts of life and of words became crystals in her verses. Influenced by Zen Buddhism, Kyger has long been identified with the Beat movement, the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance, and the Black Mountain school, but, in actuality, she defies categorization” (p.146).
- Quoted from: California Video: Artists and Histories Edited by Glenn Phillips
Hilda Doolittle
*Most of Hilda Doolittle (H.D.)’s books begin with the
Call #: PS 3507 .O726 -
————————————————————————————————————————–
For the men of the Beat Generation,
the following titles are on display:
Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs
Naked Angels- PS228.B6 T995 N
Jack Kerouac
*Road Novels, 1957-1960- PS3521.E735 A6 2007
*Visions of Cody- PS3521.E735 V565
*Visions of Gerard- PS3521.E735 V57
*Big Sur- PS3521.E735 B5
*Town & the City- PS3521.E735 T6 1978
*Desolation Angels- PS3521.E735 D46 1995
*Dharma Bums- PS3521.E735 D48 1986
*Book of Haikus- PS3521.E735 B66 2003
*On the Road: the Original Scroll – PS3521.E735 O5 2007
Allen Ginsberg
*Journals mid-fifties, 1954-1958 – PS3513.I74 Z473 1995
*Howl- PS3513.I74 H61986
*Howl: Fifty Years Later- PS 3513 .I74 H6356 2006
*I Celebrate Myself- PS3513.I74 Z748 2006
*Mind Breaths- PS3513.I74 M5
*White Shroud- PS3513.I74 W46
William S. Burroughs
Ticket that Exploded- PS3552.U776 T53
Gregory Corso
Gasoline- PS3553.O776 G37
John Clellon Holmes
Nothing More to Declare- PS3515.O44455 N6
————————————————————————————————————————–
