The Spirit of the Female Beats

“Women of the Beat weren’t afraid to get dirty. They were compassionate, careless,charismatic, marching to a different drummer, out of step. Muses who birthed a poetryso raw and new and full of power that it changed the world. Writers whose words weavespells, whose stories bind, whose vision blinds. Artists for whom curing the disease of artkills.” – Women of the Beat Generation (Brenda Knight, 1998)

What’s Beat?

On my recent travels through Asia I have been reading Barry Miles’ biography of Allen Ginsberg, and for some reason I’ve been pondering the meaning of the word “Beat” and of the very definition of “Beat Generation.” It’s something I did back when I began Beatdom and wanted to explain what Beatdom was and meant and yet in recent years I’ve just come to ignore these questions. 

Ginsberg Action Figure

Er, well, maybe not an action figure… Rather, a Ginsberg doll. That’s right, folks, you can now buy an Allen Ginsberg “Beat Poet Figurine“! It “comes with glasses! Book! Cloth Coat! Beaded Necklace! Uncle Sam Hat!”

Beatdom Books

When Beatdom was first published, back in 2007, we founded a little publishing company called “Mauling Press” to print and distribute the magazine. After a while they became known as “City of Recovery Press,” (or CoRP) and that’s the company that still publishes Beatdom.

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.

Link Dump

Here are a few links you might be interested in:

Allen Ginsberg’s fourteen steps for revising poetry

Allen Ginsberg’s poetic practicum

Jeff Nuttall: British Beat

I was looking through my old books today and stumbled upon a first edition, numbered copy of Jeff Nuttall’s Pig. Published in 1969, this weird little book of cut-up prose-poetry features a glowing preface from none other than the master of the cut-up, William S. Burroughs.

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.

Ah Pook is Here: Graphic Novel

Following on the heels of Eric Drooker and Allen Ginsberg’s  Howl and Illuminated Poems, is William S. Burroughs’ foray into the world of the graphic novel is set to be made public by Fantagraphics Books. It should be released in the summer of 2011.

In the 1970s, before the term “graphic novel” was coined, Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill collaborated on Ah Pook is Here.