Literature XX-XXI
9H
BELTRAN PIEDROLA CARLOS MANUEL
BRAVO GARCIA JESSICA ROXANA
Beat movement
American literary and social
movement
Beat movement, American social and literary
movement originating in the 1950s and centred in
the bohemian artist communities of San
Francisco’s North Beach, Los Angeles’ Venice West,
and New York City’s Greenwich Village.
self-styled as “beat” (originally meaning
“weary,” but later also connoting a musical
sense, a “beatific” spirituality, and other
meanings) and derisively called “beatniks,”
expressed their alienation from conventional,
or “square,” society by adopting a style of
dress, manners, and “hip” vocabulary
borrowed from jazz musicians.
They advocated personal release,
purification, and illumination through the
heightened sensory awareness that might be
induced by drugs, jazz, sex, or the disciplines
of Zen Buddhism.
THE BEATLES
Beat poets sought to transform poetry into an expression of genuine
lived experience.
They read their work, sometimes to the accompaniment of progressive
jazz, in such Beat strongholds as the Coexistence Bagel Shop and
Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights bookstore in San Francisco.
CHAOTIC AND LIBERALLY SPRINKLED ALLEN GINSBERG’S HOWL JACK KEROUAC
obscenities and frank references to sex, all intended became the most representative poetic expression advocated a kind of free, unstructured composition
to liberate poetry from academic preciosity. of the Beat movement in which the writer put down his thoughts and
feelings without plan or revision in order to convey
the immediacy of experience.
Main Books
1. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac - A seminal work that captures the spirit of
the Beat Generation. The novel is a semi-autobiographical account of
Kerouac's cross-country road trips with his friends.
2. "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg - A groundbreaking poem that became a manifesto
for the Beat Generation. "Howl" expresses the frustration and
disillusionment of the post-World War II generation and critiques the
conformity of American society.
3. "Naked Lunch" by William S. Burroughs - An avant-garde novel that
challenges conventional narrative structures. Burroughs explores the dark
and surreal aspects of addiction, control, and societal corruption.
My opinion
The Beats were known for their rejection of mainstream values and their pursuit of a
more authentic and experiential way of life.
On the other hand, critics argue that the Beats' rejection of societal norms sometimes
bordered on nihilism and lacked a coherent social or political vision. The movement
has been criticized for its association with drug use and a somewhat romanticized
view of a bohemian lifestyle.
Resources:
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, October 20). Beat movement.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement
