I am beginning to think that I need to read more (okay, any) of the beat generation authors. For the same reasons that I’ve always felt the need to read Marx, the Bible, and Ayn Rand: to understand Certain Types of People.
UPDATE: Appropos of very little, courtesy of rev: “In my mind objectivists are kind of like scientologists with a higher chance of recovery. Libertarianism: YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG”
I just bought down and out in paris and london, actually.. well, actually a reader that has excerpts from it..
Cool. I hope you like it - I’d never even heard of it until reading Kitchen Confidential (more alcoholism and grueling kitchen work, though very little sex) and somebody recommended the Orwell - it makes Bourdain look tame in comparison.
I’ve read Kerouac and highly recommend him… also read the Bible a few times and all of Ayn Rand. Probably two of my top favorites - though at different ends of the spectrum.
Here’s hoping that readings of The Bible and Ayn Rand help you understand me. As for the Beats, at least read “Howl” just because it’s one of the most asskick poems ever.
Good luck reading the Bible. I tried reading it once and when I got to the begats I just went “aaaaaauuuuuuugggghhhhhh” and put it away forever. That shit is wack, yo! Although the part about God striking down the Philistines with hemorrhoids for stealing the ark of the covenant is pretty sweet.
Thanks! Your comment has been submitted and will appear shortly.
There’s a “Portable Beat Reader” compilation that has a pretty wide survey of most of the writers of the movement, including many nodbody’s ever heard of (and are arguably better poets than Ginsberg or Ferlinghetti). A good intro. Also, while not a beat - though possibly an inspiration to them - Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris in London is fantastic, and carries many of the same themes you’d find in Bukowski or Kerouac (girls, booze, filth, shitty jobs etc).