30 Days of Writing

Tomorrow begins the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a time of year when unpublished writers attempt to hammer out a classic within 30 days. The Independent has an interesting article on some famous novelists throughout history who’ve managed to create a classic in under a month.

Included on that list, naturally, is Jack Kerouac.

Banned Books Week & the Beats

For those of you who don’t know – and that won’t be many in this age of Twitter & Facebook – it is Banned Books Week. This valuable celebration of the First Amendment was begun in 1982 Judith Krug, and is celebrated annually in the last week of September.

First Thought, Best Thought?

It could be argued that immediacy was the style of the Beats. Certainly it was Ginsbergs’, and Kerouac professed to be driven by “Spontaneous Prose.” In the years following World War II improvisation and free-flowing first thought were integral to art. Jackson Pollack, Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie… It wasn’t just the Beats. These artists were screaming in the face of a crushing conformity, and it was their apparent spontaneous creations that inspired the freedom of thought that characterized subsequent generations, movements and scenes.

Howl is Here

Substance Use

Last week, in part one of Beatdom’s literary discussion series, we debated the impact of the Beats (and other writers) on “crap writing”. This week we’re looking at a more controversial topic – that of substance use and abuse, and its impact upon the world of literature.

The Beat Generation, Gonzo Journalism, and Crap Writing

Over at Charles Montgomery’s Korean Literature in Translation website, there is a small discussion on “weird” or “strange” writing. He was discussing a Korean novel that – whilst not entirely awful – seemed only to be strange for the sake of strangeness. I commented that this is something I see a lot as an editor, particularly as an editor of a Beat Generation-themed literary journal.

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

On the Road Anniversary

Thanks to Michael Hendrick for reminding me… Today is the 53rd anniversary of the publication of On the Road.  Jack Kerouac’s classic was published September 5th 1957, and has been inspiring people ever since. As Bob Dylan said, “It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s.”

Beatdom’s On the Road

Greetings. As you will have gathered from the previous post, there’s not much action over at Beatdom. Beat news reports and our Facebook quote game have been on hiatus, and there hasn’t been much news about issue eight or the long-awaited subscriptions.

Kerouac’s Continuing Quest

Review by Arthur S. Nusbaum

Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums was first published in the immediate wake of the sensation of On the Road the previous year.  It is based on Kerouac & canonical Beat poet Gary Snyder’s real-life quests & adventures, more focused & reflective (& literally uphill) under Snyder’s influence than the frantic chases back & forth across the continent with Neal Cassady that inspired & were recounted in OtR.