Overview
| What? |
The "Beat Generation" is a literary movement during which authors expressed their true emotions (sometimes including "spontaneous writing without regard for grammar"[1]), even if the author's views on life were discordant with what society deemed acceptable or normal. Central themes could range from controversial moral/ethical topics to explicit sexual experiences. |
| Who? |
The word "beat" was first used by Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) in 1948 during the movement's initial "underground" stage. Its use in the public domain came years later in 1952 with the publishing an article by John Clellon Holmes entitled, 'This is the Beat Generation.'[2] See below for a list of some of the most notable authors and works associated with the Beat Generation. |
| When? |
Although Kerouac, Holmes, et al. met at Columbia University in the early 40's, the term "Beat Generation" didn't represent a true literary movement until the 1950s (when the authors started gaining more popularity and widespread recognition).[1] It lasted until the early 60's. |
| Why? |
The youths of the post World War II times didn't fit in with the society that surrounded them; their personal expressions and beliefs formed the driving force behind the movement. They spoke out against the "corrupt, crass, commercial world"[2] in which they found themselves confined. |
Style
The "Beats" had a style that was molded around their cause. They rejected neoclassical authors such as T. S. Eliot as being "too much removed from real life and experience" or even an "elitist with pretentions of grandeur."[3] Instead, many authors associated with the movement made allusions or even openly paid homage to the poets associated with Romanticism. In addition, many authors appreciated the Transcendentalism movement and what it stood for.
A notable characteristic of some of the works associated with the movement is the blatant use of foul language, sexually explicit topics, drug use, and more. Allen Ginsberg's Howl even landed him on trial in court due to its highly obscene and allegedly pornographic nature. Some works even explored the world of drugs and fell into a sort of stream-of-consciousness writing as the reader was taken on a "trip" through what very likely could have been faint recollections from a real hallucination the author experienced while on drugs.[3]
Structure/Form: The musings of one Beat Generation author might vary drastically in form from another even despite having a unified outlook on life and literature. The very essence of what drove the young founders to write would suggest that following a preconceived structure or form to simply be out of the question. With the lack of any filter between limitless imagination and pen, the structure of the Beats (if any) was not like any that had gained widespread popularity amongst established literary norms.
Primary Concerns
The Beat Generation was a collection of individuals who lived and flourished in the times following World War II. They questioned the some of the policies/behaviors that society had come to embrace, such as capitalism and materialism. They also felt that the repressed mannerisms of previous generations was "stifling" and overall detrimental. Rather than writing politely and avoiding such taboo topics such as sexuality and drugs, the Beats chose to embrace the lewd, obscene, or offensive subjects and express their thoughts and feelings about them openly - free from any restraints that society might try to impose.[3]
Selected Quotations
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But yet, but yet, woe, woe unto those who think that the Beat Generation means crime, delinquency, immorality, amorality ... woe unto those who attack it on the grounds that they simply don’t understand history and the yearning of human souls ... woe in fact unto those who those who make evil movies about the Beat Generation where innocent housewives are raped by beatniks! ... woe unto those who spit on the Beat Generation, the wind’ll blow it back. [4]
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 |
| -- Jack Kerouac |
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Those of us who flew out the door had no usable models for what were doing. We did not want to be our mothers or our spinster schoolteachers or the hard-boiled career women depicted on screen. And no one had taught us how to be women artists or writers. [4]
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| -- Joyce Johnson |
Reception
As with any group or movement that moves against the tides of society, those associated with the Beat Generation received plenty of criticism. Some literature was even dismissed as "a mere provocation - a means to get attention, not serious art." [3] Others were seemingly taken too seriously and charged with producing nothing but pornography rather than art. Despite such initial reactions, the Beats succeeded in provoking change in people's outlook on life. According to Allen Ginsberg in "A Definition of Beat Generation," the following list could be considered to comprise some of the Generation's "essential effects"[4]:
- Spiritual liberation, sexual "revolution" or "liberation," i.e., gay liberation, somewhat catalyzing women's liberation, black liberation, Gray Panther activism.
- Liberation of the word from censorship.
- Demystification and/or decriminalization of some laws against marijuana and other drugs.
- The evolution of rhythm and blues into rock and roll as a high art form, as evidenced by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and other popular musicians influenced in the later fifties and sixties by Beat generation poets' and writers' works.
- The spread of ecological consciousness, emphasized early on by Gary Snyder and Michael McClure, the notion of a "Fresh Planet."
- Opposition to the military-industrial machine civilization, as emphasized in writings of Burroughs, Huncke, Ginsberg, and Kerouac.
- Attention to what Kerouac called (after Spengler) a "second religiousness" developing within an advanced civilization.
- Return to an appreciation of idiosyncrasy as against state regimentation.
- Respect for land and indigenous peoples and creatures, as proclaimed by Kerouac in his slogan from On the Road 'The Earth is an Indian thing.'
Source: [4]
Works Cited
- http://www.enotes.com/beat-movement
- http://www.litkicks.com/BeatGen
- http://www.online-literature.com/periods/beat.php
- http://www.heureka.clara.net/art/beat-generation.htm
Comments (1)
Kelsey Cochran said
at 1:28 am on Jul 25, 2011
After reading Ginsberg's "Howl," I had to come back and rad your WIKI piece again. Loved it! There are so many similarities between the Beat Generation and the Lost Generation. It's interesting that both movements happened following a major war- and that members of both movements shared the same feelings about America, experimentation, and freedom of expression. When Kerouac said "Woe to those who spit on the Beat Generation,
the wind'll blow it back," I think he was right. There will be another generation of young people who will take their disillusionment with events and make another creative movement. And although our focus is on the writers,
there is so much great music that comes from these time periods/movements! - Kelsey Cochran
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