The Beat Generation?

1. What do you think of when you hear… The Beat Generation? "The so-called Beat Generation was a whole bunch of people, of all different nationalities, who came to the conclusion that society sucked.”- Amiri Baraka

2. When was the Beat movement? The late 1950’s and into the 1960’s (but this is a distinct movement from the Hippy movement) It began as a rebellion against the American culture of the 1950’s. -What do you think of when you think of the fifties? -Any stereotypes of the fifties?

3. What was going on in America in the 50’s that made these artists rebel? -After WWII the American Economy was on the rise. -The Korean War (1950-1953) and The Cold War (1946-1991) meant that the nation was pretty conservative politically -Also, intently patriotic. -The rise in the economy and housing lead to a very materialistic society.

4. Who were the Beats? • The “core” group of the Beat generation were • Allen Ginsberg, Lucian Carr, Hal Chase, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac all met in New York City in the 1940’s • Then the group moved to San Francisco in the early to mid 50’s, and met up with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Rexroth and Gary Snider.

5. What did they stand for? • Non-conformity. • They rebelled against the highly academic privilege of poetry and thought that poetry should be brought to the people • What do you think this means when it comes to accessibility in poetry? • How would you guess that Beat poets would write if this was their goal?

6. What Else? Allen Ginsberg said that the Beat movement stood for… Spiritual Liberation from the morals of society. A sexual revolution and liberation (Gay liberation, women’s liberation) Liberation of the written word from Censorship (what does this mean?) Demystification and Decriminalization of some laws against weed and other drugs The evolution of rhythm and blues into rock and roll (Bob Dylan, The Beatles, were influenced by the Beat’s poetry) Spread of Ecological awareness Respect for land and Indigenous people “The Earth is an Indian thing” Opposition of the military and industrialization (they were against most corporations and large organizations) “Second religiousness” attention to zen ideals, and Eastern philosophies.

7. That’s a lot of stuff, so…. • It’s important to remember that for almost everything that the Beats did, it related back to non conformity, and a deep suspicion of any large corporation or system of thinking (government, military, academia, and mainstream religions) • For the purposes of our class, I want to focus on the Beat Generation’s attention to three key ideas. • Sexuality • Religion • Substances

8. Sexuality • The Beats experimented with alternative forms of sexuality. • The 50’s were a fairly sexually repressed time and so the Beats broke down a lot of those barriers. They discussed: • Homosexuality (Allen Ginsberg and Burroughs were openly homosexual) • The separation of “love” from the physical act of “sex”. • Group sex and bisexuality.

9. Religion • The Beats were especially interested in Eastern and indigenous religions. • Buddhism and meditation play a huge role in finding self and the holiness of the moment and self. • The concept that “all is holy” is a major one for the beats. • Mindfullness and living in the moment also plays a large role

10. Think about this interview with Jack Kerouac: Wallace: You mean beat people are mystics? Kerouac: Yeah. It's a revival prophesied by Spengler. He said that in the late moments of Western civilization there would be a great revival of religious mysticism. It's happening. W. What do beat mystics believe in? K. Oh, they believe in love. They love children . . . they love women, they love animals, they love everything . . . What I believe is that nothing is happening . . . We're an empty vision—in one mind. W. In what mind—the mind of God? K. That's the name we give it. We can give it any name. We can call it tangerine . . . god . . . tangerine . . . But I do know we are empty phantoms . . . And yet, all is well. W. All is well? K. Yeah. We're all in Heaven, now, really.

11. Interrogator Wallace asked San Francisco Poet Lamantia to explain two of his lines: Come Holy Ghost, for we can rise/ Out of this Jazz . . . Said Lamantia: "You have to be pure. You gotta get through this life without getting hung up. That's the whole question—not to get hung up ...” W. What is getting "hung up"? L. Freezing. Freezing from others, from yourself, from the Holy Spirit. If you're hung up, you can't love, or care for others. W. Why are so many members of the Beat Generation bums and tramps? L. Oh, you see, Christ says go out and find the bums . . .Find the blind and the cripples . . . Christ invites everyone, including the outcasts. So there's no contradiction at all between Christ and a bebopper and a hipster . .

12. Substance Use -The Beats also experimented with a variety of substances. -Hallucinogenic drugs were used as a way to reach a higher state (like the use of payote, which mirrored the use in Native American Traditions) -Marijuana was used frequently as well as alcohol -Why? These substances were seen as “fuel” for things to reflect on, experiences to write about, and life to be lived.

13. Now think of the name… From what you can think of, why would this generation be called “the Beats”? What about Beatniks?

14. Beatniks vs. Hippies, What’s the difference? Beatniks hippies Colorful, floral clothing Celebrated and displayed individuality Were fiercely political (anti war etc…) • Dark, somber clothing • Played it cool ( kept a low profile) • Didn’t go with one political party or the next as a group