Beat Movement Essay, Research Paper

The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important

period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating

influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy and religion, the beat

writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way a

generation of people sees the world. That generation is mow aging and its

representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive

and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness.

The Beat Generation of writers offered the world a new attitude. They brought to

society a consciousness of life worth living. They offered a method of escape

from the stultifying, unimaginative world we live in, through the exploration of

one’s intellect. Beat has had many different contemporary implications in music,

poetry and literature. Literature has been liberated considerably. The poetic

form has been changed to inaugurate a new poetic form, an American form.

"There was less emphasis on tradition and more emphasis on the individual

talent. (www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" One of the most important contributions to

contemporary verse was to take poetry out of the classrooms and into

non-academic setting?coffee houses, jazz clubs, large public auditoriums and

even athletic stadiums. Poetry is more popular and more read than anytime in

history, not only spoken poetry but also sung poetry of a high order. "The

literature, coordinated by pop music, with a way of dressing, with a way of

life, it something that has influenced the youth of the world not only in

Western countries but Eastern countries as well. (www.charm.net)" Music has

been influenced greatly by Beat writing. The lyrics of many great songs have

forever been changed by the writing of the Beat Generation. "Bob Dylan’s

favorite poet was Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg became one of Dylan’s greatest

friends. He worked on many projects with Dylan…The band Rage Against the

Machine has many of Ginsberg’s poems and words show up in their songs. For

instance the song ‘Bulls on Parade’ includes Ginsberg ‘Hadda Been Playing on the

Jukebox’ (www.charm.net)" Generation X writers are compared to the Beat

writers. Many people say that the "generation coming to age has the

potential to bring a new vision to society. The Beats thumbed their noses at the

corporate world just like Generation X does today. (www.altx.com/io/beatgeneration.html)"

Many writers of Generation X have been influenced by the writing like Andy

Clausen, Eliot Katz, Geoffrey Manough and Ed Sanders. There are many writers

that have been influenced but have not been included in the Generation X

section. These writers took up the flame of the Beat flavor, keeping it strong.

James Wright was one of the writers that kept the flame going. "He was much

admired poet of his generation…(www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" His works have a

"sense of Midwestern American bleakness…(www.rohan.sdsu)" One of his

poems goes like this "My bones turn to dark emeralds Your hands turn yellow

in the ruins of the sun Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I

would break Into blossom (www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" Another such writer with

Beat flavor would be Adrienne Rich. "Rich’s work established the importance

of gender in shaping a poetic consciousness and she became a mentor to thousands

of women, enabling them to ’speak the unspeakable,’ to authenticate their unique

experience of reality. (www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" Beat writing has made a great

impact on the writing of today’s generation. It has allowed people to be more

open with themselves and the people that are reading their works. It is also

allowed people to be more open minded to new ideas that these works brought to

the surface for everybody to see. Where early writing was stiff, beat writing

allowed for the writing to come after it to beat to a different drummer. Beat

writing has expanded the world of literature, poetry and music to a higher level

for people to enjoy.

www.charm.net/~brooklyn/Topics/BeatGen.html www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/index.html

www.rohan.sdsu.edu