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193rd out of 976 books
—
1,017 voters
The Portable Beat Reader
by
Ann Charters
Through poetry, fiction, essays, song lyrics, letters, and memoir this authoritative single-volume collection of Beat literature captures the triumphant energy of a movement that swept through American letters with hurricane force. Featuring: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gary Snyder, Neal Cassady, Gregory Corso, Diane Di Prima, Bob Dylan, Ken Kesey, Cha...more
Paperback, The Viking Portable Library #102, 645 pages
Published
November 1992
by Penguin Books
(first published 1992)
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A necessity. Not a book you need to plow through in its entirety, but reassuring to have on the shelf, to dip into now and again to check one's cynicism, recalibrate the moral compass. However naive the Beats' idealism sometimes seems, and however unfortunately susceptible to caricature they've become in the popular imagination, they remain an essential component of American literature and culture. Whether their ethos is really livable, possible, or even desirable is beside the point: they conti...more
I must admit, that there was a good portion of this book that I just skimmed. I found most of the beat poems to be dry and self important. That being said, the sections that were about the poets themselves, was extremely fascinating and there were some poets that I didn't think I would enjoy, and now find myself searching for their work to read more about them.
While I didn't read a portion of this book, I'm still giving it four stars. This is a well rounded sampling of beat poetry and it gives...more
While I didn't read a portion of this book, I'm still giving it four stars. This is a well rounded sampling of beat poetry and it gives...more
I wasn't sure how to rate this book. It was a well edited volume, I'm just not crazy about the raw material. However, having published on Kerouac, I know feel better having more Beat under my belt. And it was nice not to have to read these works in their entirety.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy any of them. I really love Ginsberg's poetry, and I'd never read Kaddish before. There were other good pieces as well, but there were also several that really didn't deserve to be published. Because part...more
That's not to say I didn't enjoy any of them. I really love Ginsberg's poetry, and I'd never read Kaddish before. There were other good pieces as well, but there were also several that really didn't deserve to be published. Because part...more
now THAT was a long read at just over 600 pages. i never was much of a beat fan, but as either as a joke or just because she heard me say the word "beat", a friend of mine gave this to me to stave off boredom. it KINDA helped. i don't dig kerouac and burroughs so much. neal cassady was kinda ok. i actually preferred the female-written poems over most anything else in the book. it does a good job at expanding from the majors and it did have an excerpt from my favorite poet, charles bukowski, on h...more
While it is great that this exists, as there are few anthologies of 'beat' writers, I think that the selections fall short of an accurate depiction of some of the writers featured. While this is only of mild annoyance to someone well-read in the beat cannon who can simply go and pick up their copy of 'On the Road' for further review, it is actually of a much more sinister nature when in the hands of someone just starting out with the beats, as the anthology does not include a fleshed out depicti...more
If memory serves me, I probably bought this book when I was 19 or 20 years old. I read several selections at the time, largely from authors or poets I already had interested in, and then this book sat on my shelf for a number of years. Fast forward to summer vacation 2008, and wanting something to pass the time. Being over 600 pages, it takes quite a bit of time to get through, but by in large the gems highlighted are truly worth your time. The book is divided into three chronological sections,...more
I read about 1/2 of this book in November, while I was on my trip to Rome, and I really enjoyed it, but found some of the featured authors a bit plodding. And yet, I picked it up to fill in some gaps in my historical knowledge of the movements of that period and some history of the city I live in (San Francisco), and influences to my social circles and lifestyle. I had no idea how much of an influence this small group of notable "Beats" had on society and later generations.
I remember watching c...more
I remember watching c...more
I'm getting ready to see the movie, "Howl," so I read the poem this morning, along with "A Supermarket in California." Is Ginsburg the 20th Century Walt Whitman? Certainly, I think he wanted to be something like that.
Howl is very trippy! I was moved by the language, but I am not conversant with all the personal references. It seems that one needs to know something about the Beat circle in order to fully understand this poem. I think "Howl" might be the short version of Kerouac's "On the Road" (...more
Howl is very trippy! I was moved by the language, but I am not conversant with all the personal references. It seems that one needs to know something about the Beat circle in order to fully understand this poem. I think "Howl" might be the short version of Kerouac's "On the Road" (...more
I read this as an undergraduate for a special topics course in beat literature and mostly enjoyed it. The beats aren't perfect, and a lot of their writing is too precious and pretentious, but this is a pretty good introduction into the movement, providing enough beat literature for a novice while possibly encouraging a little more digging for people who connect especially well to the themes and works in this book.
I read this book when I was 16, and by 17, I was off on an adventure that lasted until I was 35. I still, to this day, long for freedom and for the open road. Of a childish life of multiple romances and endless celebration from town to town, countryside to countryside. Thank you Ginsberg. Thank you Kerouac. Thank you Thank you, William S. Burroughs. Xoxo
Poets, drug addicts, criminals, alcoholics, hedonists, ne'er-do-wells, agitators, college dropouts, social revolutionaries; the Beats were the voice of the Lost Generation born (mostly) between two world wars, looking for fresh artistic outlets and ideas away from those approved by contemporary academe. They found them.
Just awesome. I've been on a "beat" kick this summer, set off by Gary Snyder's "Mountains and Rivers without End" and I am so glad that I spent the last two weeks pouring over this anthology. While some of the writing itself was lack luster I was happy to discover some gems, fall back in love with Allen Ginsberg, and read all of the wonderful histories and critical writings on the movement. Neal Cassady's letters, of course, were astonishingly beautiful.
An excellent overview of the Beats. Includes hard to find pieces by lesser known writers like Herbert Huncke, John Clellon Holmes and others who were just as indispensable in defining what would become the 50s and 60s counter-culture as Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg.
I've been told that my Beat fetish is the sign of having an immature teenage mind...then again the person that told me that has a secret Twilight obsession - I guess thats what Mr Freud would call classic projection.
Oct 18, 2009
Karen
is currently reading it
I'm doing an English paper on Kerouac and figured in order to know him a little better I needed to know about the people e influenced and was influenced by. Consequently, I have a ton of rading to do!
A trip to San Francisco rekindled an interest in Beat writers, picked up this book at the Anarchist Bookstore, and it has proved to be interesting and informative as well as entertaining.
Good fun for everyone. There is a fascinating section in which Jack Kerouac wrote a description of how he writes for his friends. Fascinating.
Mandatory reading for one of my literature classes in college that turned into a nightstand staple for me.
Every 18 year old boy should pick up a copy of this after graduating high school.
Propelled my interest in writing and lead me to pursue a degree in English. Not bad.
isn't going through a Beat phase one of the rites of passage?
Of critical importance for creative types between ages 15-19.
I love dipping in and out of this book-- really powerful stuff.
This book was given to me by Sergeant Pepper himself.
An excellent anthology including analytical narratives and representative examples of some of the best works of the Beat movement, covering the most recognized figures (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Cassidy, etc.) as well as those less familiar to the general reader. While I thought the author’s definition of what constituted a Beat writer was too expansive, as it included many who were more influenced by the Beat authors than were actual Beat writers themselves, it is a relatively minor quibble...more
Good for a cursory understanding of beatness.
Such a pathetic fan girl for the Beats.
killer sampling of the good stuff.
Awesome. Figured it would be. Its the best of the best for beat lovers!
A decent overview.
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