A revolution of the soul
by Sean McGahey
“The Beats were not programmatically political, but were utopian in their belief that artists – citizens would be the leaders of a new society.”
The “Beat Movement” 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 see the world.
That generation, considered dead and buried with its voice becoming lost to eternity, for some poets the message is alive and well.
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 unimaginative world we live in, through the exploration of one’s intellect. Beat has had many different contemporary implications in music, poetry and literature.
One of the most important beat contributions to contemporary verse was to take poetry out of the classrooms and into non-academic setting, coffee houses & jazz clubs. Poetry is now more popular and more read than anytime in history. Especially with the help of the internet (chat rooms, blogs, online magazines & books) Literature has become more accessible.
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 favourite poet was Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg became one of Dylan’s greatest friends.
Let’s not forget Dylan’s “Jack Kerouac” influence: “On the Road again” & “Subterranean Home Sick Blues”
“I read On the Road in maybe 1959. It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s”
Bob Dylan
On the Road Again
Well, I woke up in the morning
There’s frogs inside my socks
Your mama, she’s a-hidin’
Inside the icebox
Your daddy walks in wearin’
A Napoleon Bonaparte mask
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, do you have to ask?
Well, I go to pet your monkey
I get a face full of claws
I ask who’s in the fireplace
And you tell me Santa Claus
The milkman comes in
He’s wearing a derby hat
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, how come you have to ask me that?
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Johnny’s in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I’m on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he’s got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin’ for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten
The slacker generation “Generation X writers” are compared to the Beat writers. Many people say that the “Generation X” movement has the potential to bring a new vision to society.
Let’s not forget “Robert Frank” In 1955, Frank set out to observe and photograph the United States. Supported by a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation, he traveled across the country for two years. The result was “The Americans”, a milestone in the history of photography.
Frank befriended the Beat poet Jack Kerouac who later wrote the introduction to the book “The Americans” Frank became one of the key visual artists to document the bohemian beat subculture in both photography and film, including the highly influential cinematic work “Pull My Daisy”. Like the Beats, Frank sought to reveal the profound tensions he saw in American society. His photographic journey encompasses rich and poor, black and white, north and south, offering a glimpse of what makes these people and places truly American.
“Pull my daisy”
In the film, the Neal Cassady character is named Milo and is played by the painter Larry Rivers. Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, and Gregory Corso were signed on to play versions of themselves. Figures from the New York art world rounded out the cast: art dealer Richard Bellamy plays the Bishop; Alice Neal plays the Bishop’s mother; David Amram, who composed the score and theme song, plays a jazz musician whose arrival at the party signals its collapse into chaos. Milo’s son is played by Robert Frank’s son Pablo and Milo’s wife is played by Delphine Seyrig. The story takes place entirely inside the apartment of Milo’s family, except for a brief outdoor scene in which the Bishop is seen (but not heard) giving a sermon, while a disproportionately large American flag dominates the frame, even occasionally blocking out the Bishop – a scene uncannily reminiscent of the very first photograph in “The Americans”
Other beat films:
(1) What happened to Kerouac? (Macadams & Lerner) 96 min film includes the infamous drunk and down beat Kerouac arguing with Ed Sanders and William Buckley on Firing Line.
(2) Jack Kerouac’s Road – A Franco American Odyssey. A Hermeneglide Chiasson 55 minute colour film. A view of Kerouac from the perspective of his French catholic background.
(3) Burroughs: The Movie – (1983) by Howard Brookner. B/W & colour. Rare footage of Burroughs appearance on Saturday Night Live.
(4) This Song for Jack – (1983) by Robert Frank. B/W 30min - Documents the 1982 “On the Road - Jack Kerouac Conference” in Boulder Colorado. Frank creates a deliberate companion piece to his earlier film “Pull my Daisy”.
(5) Gregory Corso reads from the U.S. Constitutional and Bill of Rights - 1992 by Rasin & Poynton – Colour 18 minutes.