The Beat Generation: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides) - Softcover

Gair, Christopher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851685421 ISBN 13: 9781851685424

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2008

Synopsis

The engine behind the first modern counterculture, the Beat Generation were a revolutionary group of American writers in the late 50s and early 60s who fused a fresh approach to literature with a bohemian lifestyle. Immortalized through Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl, their relaxed, gritty, and candid writing has inspired generations. Chronicling the group’s origins, adventures, and inner workings, Gair introduces iconic personalities including Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Burroughs, along with women writers, musicians, and artists. Examining their monumental influence upon popular culture from bebop to the Beastie Boys, Gair proves beyond any doubt that their revolutionary approach to literature and life has created a key movement in American literature. Christopher Gair is Senior Lecturer in American Literature at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Gair is a Senior Lecturer in American Literature at the University of Glasgow. He is author of The American Counterculture (2007) and Complicity and Resistance in Jack London's Novels: From Naturalism to Nature (1997).

Review

"A comprehensive, lively and supremely approachable introduction to the turbulence and iconoclasm of mid-20th century American writers and their lives." -- Geoff Ward, Dean of Arts at University of London and author of The Writing Of America: Literature and Cultural Identity from the Puritans to the Present

"For Chris Gair, there remains 'no coherent overview of the Beat Generation,' but here it is in a breeze of historical narrative. Gair tells a lively and eloquent story that is superbly deft and engaging." -- Ian F. A. Bell, Professor of American Studies at Keele University

"For its breadth of coverage, including the international impact of the Beats, as well as for the perspecuity of its detailing, this book is both an excellent beginning point and a reference source to be returned to time and again." -- James Williams, Senior Managing Editor of Critical Inquiry

"In this essential study, Professor Gair takes us beyond the cliches of the beatnik and non-conformity to establish how the Beat Generation came out of the political, economic, cultural, and ideological tensions of post-1945 America." -- Scott Lucas, Executive Director of Libertas: The Centre for the Study of US Foreign Policy

"The special merit of Christopher Gair's supremely intelligent study is its awareness that the Beats still attract attention for extra literary reasons." --Journal of American Studies

Edition details

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1851685421
• ISBN 13: 9781851685424
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224