Untitled Essay, Research Paper

Beat PoetsBy: James Deree

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 Americ!

an 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

h!

as many of Ginsberg’s poems and words show up in their songs. For inst

ance 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 i!

n 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. BIB

www.charm.net/~brooklyn/Topics!

/BeatGen.html

www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/index.html

www.roh

an.sdsu.eduThe “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 th!

e Machine has many of Ginsberg’s poems and words show up in their song

s. 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 tu!

rn 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.Bibliography

www.charm.net/~brooklyn/Topics/BeatGen.html

www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/index.html

www.rohan.sdsu.edu