I've seen the greatest minds of the Beat generation masturbate furiously to likenesses of themselves

[momus]

I was having an interesting chat with fraulein32 about the Beat writers.
As the astute reader may have gleaned from the post topic, I'm not a big fan, personally. She was a bit more forgiving of them, was fraulein32While some of the writing may be brilliant, I've never been able to pull myself fully from the feeling that, really, the Beats were just a bunch of self

Comments

[bombazzinedoll]

t was self absorption and egotism.

idk, reading Kerouac has always resulted in a very personal religious experience for me - a personal revolution, if you will, instead of a huge collective societal one. It is very self-involved, but that's what I always found appealing I guess.

/end pretentious douchebag response, heh.

[fraulein32]

I too like the Beats for the same reason - their writing catalyzes a personal revolution. My contention with them and the idea of personal revolution is how it came to shape American ideas of Buddhism, particularly Tantric Buddhism. What the Beats advocated is simply hedonism, thinly veiled in religious terminology.

[bombazzinedoll]

What the Beats advocated is simply hedonism, thinly veiled in religious terminology.

Man, this.

[fornikate]

Eh, I feel the same way about jazz.

[bombazzinedoll]

:O

I feel that way about most jazz after 1970, but before that? Man.

[fornikate]

99% of it is musical masturbation. I like Charlie Parker, but that's about it.

[mengus]

Kerouac is pretty boring, Ginsberg a blowhard, but Burroughs is at the very least interesting, and Bukowski owns forever. Though, I'm not sure Buk is an offial "Beat" writer.

[fornikate]

I don't consider him one. I never have.

[medusadefuzz]

there is nothing sane about you that going crazy wont cure?

and other thoughts about string theory?

ref.: By the internet weather stations, it didn't freeze last night,but I really should trust my I's?

and not the Whether?

[momus]

Wut?

Hi, who are you?

[anonymous]

Eulogy To A Hell Of A Dame

some dogs who sleep At night
must dream of bones
and I remember your bones
in flesh
and best
in that dark green dress
and those high-heeled bright
black shoes,
you always cursed when you drank,
your hair coming down you
wanted to explode out of
what was holding you:
rotten memories of a
rotten
past, and
you finally got
out
by dying,
leaving me with the
rotten
present;
you've been dead
28 years
yet I remember you
better than any of
the rest;
you were the only one
who understood
the futility of the
arrangement of
life;
all the others were only
displeased with
trivial segments,
carped
nonsensically about
nonsense;
Jane, you were
killed by
knowing too much.
here's a drink
to your bones
that
this dog
still
dreams about.

[m_fallenangel]

"the Beats were just a bunch of self absorbed fuck-wits, running around high, making asses of themselves"

You grasped the entire mindset and reason for being of the entire "movement" right there. It was the first shot in the 'I'm entitled to whatever I want because I happen to think I'm the shit and I'm going to whine like a little princess if you don't give it to me and validate my wonderfulness," war that American culture ultimately ended up losing.

Put simply, Jack Kerouac gave birth to both Paris and Perez Hilton. The ability to, on a fluke, turn the occasional good phrase does not absolve him of that.

[m_fallenangel]

The wonderful thing about your words is the 'Beat Gen' were a bunch of asshole, deceitful liars, sir. I think the person responsible for this post can identify with that prowess and possibly represent that behavior. Do not turn a blind eye to justice young, m_fallenangel, they will only deceive you in the end.

*hat tip* And good day to you sir.

[momus]

lol, what?

[m_fallenangel]

Um, what kind of drugs are they serving there in Anonymous Poster land? You might want to scale back.