Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Jan. 23, 2002, edition 1 / Page 18
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 18 Arts 8c Entertainment Jan. 23, 2002 The Beat goes on: ‘50s generation of writers regenerated Erin Moseley Reporter cc Their’s is a message of freedom and indepen dent thouglit. The Beats pushed the limits of society and forever changed the way people think. ^ ^ Feeling the Beat Gordon Ball / copyright Gordon Ball Cadets at Virginia Military institute in Lexington, Va., read Allen Ginsberg’s famous poem “Howl” in professor Gordon Ball’s Literature of the Beat Generation class. This City Lights Books version of Ginsberg’s '‘Howl” was the first reproduction of the author's work. Originally printed in 1956, it sold for $1, making it affordable to everyone. The book was also seized by U.S. Customs the same year and was the subject of a long obscenity trial. Decades have a ten dency to take on identities in people’s minds. Mention the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, or‘60s and some thing rather specific immediately comes to mind. In the process of experiencing and writing, counter- culturalists of the ‘50s and ‘60s ac quired a generational tag. “They were the Beat Genera tion,” said course instructor Michael Strickland, coordinator of the English Department’s profes sional writing and rhetoric pro gram. “They were one of the longest- lasting influences on American lit erature, and they are back, without having ever really been gone.” This winter term, Elon students are learning about the Beat Gen eration and its influences in the ‘50s and ‘60s. According to Strickland, the be liefs and concepts of the Beat Movement are still alive today. “Through hippies and punks, and also throughout the ‘80s, the perceptions of the [Beat] genera tion have bubbled back up to the surface,” he said. “I am speculating wildly,” said Strickland, “however, one of the things that makes the Beat Genera tion appealing to the young people of today is that while we live in a freer, more progressive society, there is still an awful lot about our consumer culture that today’s gen eration feels a sense of rebellion against. Followers today feel as though the Beat Movement rattled culture in a way it needs to be rattled again.” Strickland said he is teaching a course on the Beat Generation this winter term to “encourage students to look deeper into the culture and ideas of the Beat Movement and to learn the authors’ lives.” Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and Wil liam Burroughs made up the core group. They met in a neighbor hood surrounding Columbia University in uptown Manhattan. The movement later migrated to San Francisco. The Beat writ ers existed as a small group of close friends that initiated a movement. “They expressed objection and criticism against American materi alism in a bitter, harsh and often abusive language,” Strickland said. The Beats mocked America’s conformity, denounced its immo rality and set out “on the road” to discover America’s true spirit. “Their’s is a message of free dom and independent thought,” Mary Sessions said, student in the course. “The Beats pushed the lim its of society and forever changed the way people think.” As an attendee of the Jack Kerouac School For Disembodied Poetics, Strickland received “a real sense of the alternative lifestyle,” as he attended lectures by Ginsberg, Burroughs, and other prominent Beat thinkers. “I’ve always been fascinated by a bunch of creative people, united under the same roof, executing a nexus of energy that collectively creates something much larger, much more influential,” Strickland said. The Beat Movement was not just another literary genre, but a literary and social revolution. Strickland said the term is as sociated with literature and po etry; however, within the same era, the United States also hosted artistic movements in jazz and ab stract expressionism. “The writers were living in a very restrictive and repressive time,” junior Kara Falck said. “They did not follow all of the rules in form and subject matter. They delved into their own souls and came up with dynamic real izations about life and the world.” Strickland continues to teach the stories and ideas of the Beat Generation because students are drawn to it, and he wants to guar antee that they grasp the true story. “I enjoy getting involved in the literature with students who are genuinely interested,” said Strickland. What began as a movement es pousing mysticism and spontane ity is reemerging in conversation, books, museums, movies and CD-ROMs, as well as on Elon’s campus. “All too often people are con tent in accepting the rules and roles that society dishes out,” said Falck. “I’ve gained a new under standing of literature and soci ety.” Annette Randall / Photo Editor Keeping the Beat Students in ‘The Beat Generation” literature course read William S. Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch,” an abstract novel of imaginitive sketches. Burroughs is regarded as one of the founding Beat writers. BEAT def: (bit) adj. tired, broken-down, sym pathetic; relating to the Beats usual suspGcts: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Kenneth Rexroth sugf^. books: "On the Road,'' "The Subterraneans," "Big Sur" (Kerouac), "Junky," "Naked Lunch" (Burroughs), "The Portable Beat Reader" (ed. Charters) sugg. poems: "Howl," "America," "Kaddish" (Ginsberg)) !
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 23, 2002, edition 1
18
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75