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Masterpieces of Beat Literature
Michael J. Dittman
Book Code: GR3283
ISBN: 0-313-33283-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33283-8
136 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 12/30/2006
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Discount Price: $39.96 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 20%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • A timeline brackets the Beat Generation as beginning with a 1944 meeting between Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Herbert Huncke, and ending with Ginsberg's death in 1997. Dittman, author of Jack Kerouac: A Biography (2004), reflects on what defines literary movements and the Beats' legacy. He then presents biographies, synopses of, and discussion questions on the works of key figures: John Clellon Holmes (Go); Kerouac (On the Road, The Dharma Bumns; Ginsberg (Howl and Other Poems); Burroughs (Naked Lunch); Neal Cassidy (The First Third); and "new journalist" Tom Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test).
    —Reference & Research Book News     February 2007
Description: Periods of cultural conflict often give birth to remarkably creative literary works. The writers of the Beat Generation wrote during a particularly chaotic time in modern American history, as they confronted the threat of a nuclear war, the rise of anti-Communist hysteria, and the growing pressure to conform to social conventions. They drew upon the works of jazz musicians, anarchist poets, and others to create an enormously influential and popular body of writing. This book is a guide to their achievement. The volume covers such major writers as John Clellon Holmes, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, and Tom Wolfe. Included are chapters on 7 literary masterpieces: Go, On the Road, Dharma Bums, Howl and Other Poems, Naked Lunch, The First Third, and The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. Each chapter provides a biography, a plot synopsis, a discussion of themes and style, study and discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading. Literature students will value this book as a guide to these major works of the Beat movement, while social studies students will gain a better understanding of how this literature reflects social issues.
LC Card Number: 2006029546
LCC Class: PS228
Dewey Class: 810
PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood Literature Spring 2008.pdf
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