Who were the beats? Not the sandle-clad "beatniks" of popular lore but dedicated writers, experimenters, skit improvisers, theorizers, hedonists, close friends, bisexual free lovers, shapers of the future. The beats hung out at Columbia university and cheap Times Square cafeterias, devouring ideas. David Creighton shows how the world has taken up their message. In Ecstasy of the Beats he gives a fresh portrait of Carolyn Cassady, "Queen of the Beats," and of the four major Beat writers.
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road gave a pattern of adventure to restless youth, Allen Ginsberg donned a prophet’s robe by writing Howl, William Burroughs warned against control mechanisms in Naked Lunch, and Neal Cassady’s high-energy life made him an icon of freedom. Travelling widely to see where they lived, Creighton enriches the meaning of On the Road and other Beat classics. He invites the reader on the Beats’ journey toward ever-deeper levels of understanding and provides interesting insight into Kerouacs French-Canadian roots.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 810.9/0054
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-us---
- ISBN
- 9781550027341 9781554881499
- LCCN
- PS228.B6
- LCCN Item number
- C74 2007eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (317 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00603170 (OCoLC)244771096 (CaOOCEL)410819
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- Acknowledgements 10
- PROLOGUE: A ROAD TRIP, A ROAD TRIP!: Manhattan, 2007 12
- 1: GO FOR BROKE: Bracknell, England, 2005 16
- 2: PUT UP YOUR DUKES AND WRITE: New York City, 1940s 30
- 3: RAGGED AND ECSTATIC JOY: Denver, 1940s 54
- 4: A PLANK WHERE ALL THE ANGELS DOVE OFF: San Francisco, 1940s–1960s 72
- 5: ROUGH AND HARD AND EXTREME: Mexico, 1950s–1960s 102
- 6: NOT AKIN TO LUSTFUL THOUGHTS: Europe and Africa, 1950s–1960s 118
- 7: THE PERFECT ECSTASY: Lowell, 1920s to Present 136
- 8: GOLDEN ASH, BLISSFUL EMPTINESS: New England, 1890s–1960s 162
- 9: IT WAS PURE, IN MY HEART: New Jersey and New York, 1920s–1990s 176
- 10: CANADA WAS MY BOSOM OF GOD: Quebec, 1950s–1960s and Early Years 212
- 11: DOWN INTO THE DARKS: Southern United States, 1940s–1960s 228
- 12: EVERYTHING IS ECSTASY: Central United States, 1940s–1990s 242
- EPILOGUE: FIVE MILLION OF STARS: Quebec and Toronto 266
- Chronology 276
- Family Trees 282
- Maps 286
- Suggested Reading and Viewing 294
- Index 304
- A 304
- B 304
- C 306
- D 307
- E 308
- F 308
- G 309
- H 310
- I 311
- J 311
- K 311
- L 312
- M 313
- N 314
- O 314
- P 314
- Q 315
- R 315
- S 316
- T 317
- U 317
- V 318
- W 318
- Y 318
- Z 318
