Beat Poetry

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Beat Poetry

• Rebellious Literature of the 1950s

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The Beat Movement

• Jack Kerouac said that Beat stands for the
  weariness with all the forms of the modern
  industrial state
• The term "the beat generation" was first used by
  John Clellon Holmes in a 1952 article, This Is
  The Beat Generation, about the young people of
  his time for the New York Times Magazine.
• Recalling a conversation with Jack Kerouac in
  1948, Holmes had asked Kerouac to think of a way
  to describe the unique qualities of his
  generation Kerouac came up with the term 'Beat
  Generation' on the spot. The term "beat" bears
  connotations of down-beat, worn out,
  down-and-out, drop-out and beatitude.

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Influences

• Beats were influenced by authors like Walt
  Whitman, William Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings,
  Henry Miller, Ezra Pound, jazz musicians.
• Beats influenced the country by promoting freedom
  of expression, non-conformity, and creativity
• Beat fashion stereotypically wearing black
  clothing, sunglasses, and berets.

Uncle Walt
William Carlos Williams
E.E. Cummings
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Who Started the Beat Movement?

• Jack Kerouac, author
• On the Road, Dharma Bums
• Allen Ginsberg, poet
• Howl, America
• William S. Burroughs, author
• The Naked Lunch
• Lawrence Ferlunghetti, publisher
• The Beats are particularly associated with San
  Francisco, especially North Beach.
• City Lights Bookstore in
  San Francisco

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Driving Forces of Beat Literature(motifs)

• Rebellion against societys norms
• Rejection of American virtues of progress, power,
  and materialism
• Questioning of authority
• Sexual liberation
• Zen Buddhism

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Literary Techniques

• Stream of consciousness writing
• Doesnt follow poetic rules
• Alienated characters
• Beat slang borrowed many other terms from the
  jazz/hipster slang of the '40s, such as "square,"
  "cats," "nowhere," and "dig."
• Jazz was a way of life, a completely different
  way to approach the creative process.
• Spontaneous performance
• Poetry is spoken, not sung with jazz music
  accompaniment

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Beat Poetry Assignment

• You will create and perform your own original
  poem in the style of the Beat Poets. Be sure to
  be consistent with these five themes
• Alienation
• Rebellion against societys norms/non-conformity
• Rejection of progress, materialism, power
• Beat Slang/Jazz music
• Creativity
• Form stream of consciousness, should not follow
  traditional poetic form, should be spoken not
  sung, may have jazz with it. Keep in mind this
  performance will be school appropriate! Practice.

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WH Auden
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EE Cummings
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William S. Burroughs
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Neal Cassidy Jack Kerouac
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Jack Kerouac alley in San Francisco
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Jack Kerouac

• Kerouac wrote
• On the Road on one piece of paper

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Allen Ginsberg
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Merry Pranksters in Further Ginsberg,
Ferlunghetti, friends (one of the last
pictures of them all together