Literary Hub » Beat Generation

Revisiting the Radical Presence of Diane di Prima

Revisiting the Radical Presence of Diane di Prima

Liesl Schwabe on the Work and Legacy of the San Francisco Beat Poet

By Liesl Schwabe | March 4, 2024

On the Disappearing of Joan Vollmer Burroughs

On the Disappearing of Joan Vollmer Burroughs

Katie Bennett Measures the Emotional Toll of Writing a Feminist Recovery Story

By Katie Bennett | April 25, 2022

On the Centenary of Jack Kerouac’s Birth, Rarely Seen Archival Material from His Publisher

On the Centenary of Jack Kerouac’s Birth, Rarely Seen Archival Material from His Publisher

“You are right in thinking I am interested in Kerouac and his work.”

By Literary Hub | March 11, 2022

How the Beat Generation Created the Uniform for Disaffected Youth

How the Beat Generation Created the Uniform for Disaffected Youth

Sophie Wilson on the Co-opting of a Counterculture

By Sophie Wilson | March 1, 2022

Charles J. Shields on the Profound and Playful Friendship Between Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin

Charles J. Shields on the Profound and Playful Friendship Between Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin

“Baldwin loved her caustic wit.”

By Charles J. Shields | January 19, 2022

Diane di Prima Remembers Her Friend Freddie Herko

Diane di Prima Remembers Her Friend Freddie Herko

“So it was the summer of ‘54 I met you. Or the spring. Ten years ago. Sat down on a park bench beside you, in the rain.”

By Diane Di Prima | October 6, 2021

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

On the Life and Works of Jack Kerouac, “King of the Beats”

By History of Literature | August 2, 2021

The Challenge of Editing a
Beat Legend

By Garrett Caples | April 16, 2021

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a literary icon who opened doors for the Beat Generation, has died at 101.

By Corinne Segal | February 23, 2021

The Travel Diaries of Allen Ginsberg in South America

The Travel Diaries of Allen Ginsberg in South America

“I tapped my cane against the rails to find my way thru Death.”

By Allen Ginsberg | November 22, 2019

Don't You Dare Call Me a Beatnik

Don't You Dare Call Me a Beatnik

Tosh Berman on His Dad, Wallace, and the Postwar California Art Scene

By Tosh Berman | February 8, 2019

How Did So Many Writers Get Access to Opiates?

How Did So Many Writers Get Access to Opiates?

Mapping Addiction, From Cocteau to Burroughs

By Lucy Inglis | February 5, 2019

Lawrence Ferlinghetti on the Cusp of 100

Lawrence Ferlinghetti on the Cusp of 100

Friends and Co-Workers Reflect on the Poet-Publisher's Legacy

By Jonah Raskin | January 24, 2019

Rare Beat Generation Paraphernalia, From the Legendary Collection of Julio Mario Santo Domingo

Rare Beat Generation Paraphernalia, From the Legendary Collection of Julio Mario Santo Domingo

Neal Cassady's Mugshot, Allen Ginsberg's Stars and Stripes Hat, and More

By Peter Watts | December 8, 2017

20 Rare Photographs of Allen Ginsberg

20 Rare Photographs of Allen Ginsberg

On the 20th Anniversary of his Death

By Emily Temple | April 5, 2017

Caleb Carr Lives in a Very Dark Place

Caleb Carr Lives in a Very Dark Place

On Growing Up with the Beats, Living on Mount Misery, and Vanishing Children

By Dylan Foley | August 23, 2016