The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels, and Hipsters, 1944-1960 (Circles of the Twentieth Century) - Softcover

Watson, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375701532 ISBN 13: 9780375701535

Publisher: Pantheon, 1998

Synopsis

The second volume in the acclaimed series that brings to life the groups of avant-garde writers, artists, and patrons who were keystones of what has come to be called Modernism, this book sheds new light on the hard-living, maverick poets and novelists--William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and others--who coalesced into the Beats. Illustrations.


From the Hardcover edition.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

olume in the acclaimed series that brings to life the groups of avant-garde writers, artists, and patrons who were keystones of what has come to be called Modernism, this book sheds new light on the hard-living, maverick poets and novelists--William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and others--who coalesced into the Beats. Illustrations.

From Booklist

Watson's no-holds-barred chronicle of Beat writers is part of the Circles of the Twentieth Century series, which is based on the belief that artistic innovation arises out of "constellations" of creative people. The theory is particularly appropriate when it comes to the close, even intimate friendships among the primary figures of the Beat movement: William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg, and their icon and love object, the rapacious Neal Cassady. Watson juggles the life stories of each of these driven fellows in his fluid commentary, which is well supported by photographs, quotes, and sidebars. We learn the pertinent facts about each man's childhood and the winding paths that lead to their fertile, if turbulent relationships, which were based on a shared passion for experimentation with drugs, sexuality, and spontaneous literary expression. Watson covers all their wild adventures, documents the feverish creation of such galvanizing and influential works as On the Road, "Howl," and Naked Lunch, and describes the widening of the Beat circle to include such luminaries as Gary Snyder and Michael McClure. The Beats' fusion of life, legend, and literature was gutsy, unique, and indelible, and recognition of their importance continues to grow. Donna Seaman

Edition details

• Publisher: Pantheon
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375701532
• ISBN 13: 9780375701535
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 399