…the almost right word

Inspired by my recent viewing of “The Source,” I present The Beat Edition: Beat Books. Enjoy. Or should I say, Dig it (and I don’t mean Digg it).

Selected Poems 1947-1995 – Allen Ginsberg
The first book of Ginsberg’s poetry that I ever bought. It sat by my bedside for years. Its pages have been thumbed and turned in endless repetition. Selected Poems was published later in his career as a kind of anthology. It covers a vast period of time and seems to be the most comprehensive collection of his poetry. I have loved “Sunflower Sutra,” the infamous “Howl,” “America,” “Mind Breaths,” and “A Supermarket in California.” Ginsberg was significantly influenced by Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, and William Blake, among many others. He was the first “Beat” I discovered and remains a favorite.

Memoirs of a Beatnik — Diane DiPrima
She was the Chick-Beat. She is the Chick-Beat. Her works are not as widely acknowledged as some of the other Beat writers, but she has written powerful descriptions of her time with “the gang.” She began writing as a child, publishing her first book of poetry (with Totem Press: Leroi Jones aka Amiri Baraka’s short-lived publishing company), This Kind of Bird Flies Backward, in her late teenage years. Memoirs of a Beatnik is a novel, but it is based on the Beat days: memories of getting high with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs; casual sex; all writing; all reading; all day-dreaming. I met her at a Book Festival years ago. She was a small, aged, gentle woman with a commanding presence.

The Dharma Bums — Jack Kerouac
Everyone knows of On the Road. The Dharma Bums is, in my opinion, far superior. Kerouac was one of those writers who carried a notebook with him everywhere. Nonetheless, he attempted to be anything but a writer: “He was a sports reporter for The Lowell Sun; a temporary worker in construction and food service; a United States Merchant Marine and he joined the United States Navy twice.” His first book, The Town and the City (originally published in 1950 under the pseydonym “John Kerouac”), went nowhere. On the Road was his second book and, clearly, the one that put him on the map. The Dharma Bums was written later in his short career. By then, he had become a Buddhist, in one way or another. The Dharma Bums was presented as a sequel of sorts: On the Road chronicled his cross-country drive with Neal Cassady, The Dharma Bums chronicled his experience with Buddhism, Gary Snyder and other Bay-Area Beat poets. I have always found this novel to be more engaging, and better written, than his earlier work.

Turtle Island – Gary Snyder
Some argue that Snyder is not a Beat poet. In my opinion, anyone who frequented that scene, and wrote, is Beat. His best-known book of poetry, Turtle Island, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The title references a Native American term for North America. While studying Asian Culture at UC Berkeley, Snyder was introduced to Ginsberg. The two connected easily — Snyder quickly melted into the crowd of writers. In fact, he was the inspiration for The Dharma Bums‘ main character Japhy Ryder (just like Neal Cassady was the inspiration for Dean Moriarty — the main character in On the Road). He has been known for his environmental activism and Buddhism.