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Exiled Angel: A Study of the Work of Gregory Corso
A comprehensive study of Gregory Corso's work which was central to the movement of the Beat Generation (Ginsberg, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, Snyder). Author Gregory Stephenson is well qualified to write about Corso, as the former editor of PEARL literary review and author of The Daybreak Boys: Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation.
103 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 24, 2021
This short book is an excellent introduction to the work of beat poet and legend, Gregory Corso. Before Stephenson's book came out in the late 1980s, Corso had been largely and quite unfairly overlooked, compared with the large number of books and biographies on Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs that were already in print.
Stephenson writes precisely, clearly and his critical analysis of Corso's poetry, prose and plays is very perceptive and astute.
I like Stephenson's approach too: he walks us through each of Corso's major works of poetry, starting with his promising debut in The Vestal Lady on Brattle through to some of his strongest work in Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit.
And with the recent publication of Corso's Collected Plays, the section on Gregory's plays now needs to be updated.
Ginsberg is all well and good but if you want to read beat poetry at its very best (with the possible exception of Bob Kaufman), then check out Corso's work and read Stephenson's book alongside the poems at the same time - if you have any appreciation for poetry at all, I guarantee you that it will be a highly rewarding experience.
Stephenson writes precisely, clearly and his critical analysis of Corso's poetry, prose and plays is very perceptive and astute.
I like Stephenson's approach too: he walks us through each of Corso's major works of poetry, starting with his promising debut in The Vestal Lady on Brattle through to some of his strongest work in Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit.
And with the recent publication of Corso's Collected Plays, the section on Gregory's plays now needs to be updated.
Ginsberg is all well and good but if you want to read beat poetry at its very best (with the possible exception of Bob Kaufman), then check out Corso's work and read Stephenson's book alongside the poems at the same time - if you have any appreciation for poetry at all, I guarantee you that it will be a highly rewarding experience.
November 3, 2016
A 4 star may be more ultimately fitting, but I think of why, & the book is hard to fault & I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. There are very few things I disagree with, & as a literary critic, Stephenson is much less stuffy than he could be. What surprised me most is how many of the great lines he quotes I hadn't seen before - it's really time for me to get out of Mindfield & start getting the full works!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews