The Beatdown Breakdown(1950’s-1960’s):

The Beats were an eclectic group of post World War II writers and idealists in the 1950’s. Though they weren’t directly linked or closely affiliated, they’re combined bodies of work spawned a cultural phenomenon both nationwide and worldwide. Though there was no quote-unquote “fieldguide” to being a Beat, many of the pioneers on the forefront of the beat movement followed a non-materialistic bohemian lifestyle. The Beat Generation (as these authors and followers of their works are frequently referred to) were considered hedonists on the lunatic fringe by most mainstream conservatives of the era and reveled in their outlandish reputations amongst “the squares” of the world. Most of The Beats believed in non-conformity, disestablishmentarianism, overt obscenity, open experimentation with various drug usages, alternative lifestyles, and a new open-minded outlook at sexuality. Retrospectively the Beat Generation is seen as the predecessor and “the bleed over” into the hippie counterculture movement of the 1960’s.

Heroes of the Beat Movement:

The Saint Louis-to-NYC Transplant Beats –

Lucien Carr – author of Dress and Ornaments of Certain American Indians

1) David Kammerer – Today in NYC History – Article: http://todaynychistory.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-13-1944-lucien-carr-stabbed.html

2) Lucien Carr – “The Glue” of the Beat Generation – Article: http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/lucien-carr-the-glue-of-the-beat-generation/

3) William S. Burroughs – Biography – Article:

http://www.egs.edu/library/william-burroughs/biography/

Advice for Young People – Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqBIgCb7dv0

William S. Burroughs – author of Junkie and Naked Lunch

The Granddaddy Big Kahuna Beat Master & “The Coiner of the term Beats”:

Jack Kerouac – A Great American Author – article - http://jackkerouacnomination.weebly.com/scholarly-article-reaction.html

watch?v=kOMyzslIP-o

Jack Kerouac – author of On the Road, Big Sur, The Dharma Bums, The Sea is My Brother, and The Town and the City.

Too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie-

Ken Kesey - Disability and Gender in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – Article –

http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/149/149

Ken Kesey – author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Nation

The Howling Madman –

Allen Ginsberg – Beat Epic – article –

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2010/10/05/allen-ginsberg-howl

Reads poetry to William Buckley – video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCWbVl4IKpU&feature=related

Allen Ginsberg author of Howl & Other Poems and Reality Sandwiches.

The First Lady of The Beats –

Joyce Johnson author of Minor Characters

Later Post-Beat-Influenced Writers: Thomas Pynchon author of Gravity's Rainbow, Charles Bukowski author of Factotum and Post Office, and Tom Robbins author of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

Bukowski author of Tales of Ordinary Madness

The Term Beat: The phrase originated as an African-American slang term adopted by a Caucasian street pharmacist named Herbert Huncke; used adjectivally originally meant “to be down on one’s luck”, “beat tired to the socks”, or “beatdown by misfortune”. Later adaptations of the term used by the Beatniks(or those who followed the Beat Movement) included variants of meaning, including; “on the beat”(to be in-step with the rhythmic pulse of the streets or real), “up to beat”(in the know), or “beatific”. – source: The University of Adelaide – site – http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/hum/english/beats.html

Other resource guides and sites concerning The Beat Movement aka “The Beats” include:

http://www.beatstudies.org/

http://www.beatmuseum.org/images/The%20Beat%20Generation%20In%20A%20Scholastic%20Analysis.pdf

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57467/Beat-movement

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5646

http://wild-bohemian.com/beats.htm