Come on In, Daddy-O....It's Beatnik night at Bella's...

Calling all Beatniks...now there's a term you don't hear too much.  If you'd like to find out how to be your own unique beatnik, keep reading.  Go ahead, have a seat, I won't bite...order yourself a moo juice, rooster juice, purple passions, nerve juice, mickey runs, or soft brew...just how many drinks does it take to get you juiced?



First, let's dive here into a little history.  I know, I know, it's a little long, but interesting.  The press often used the term "Beat Generation" in reference to a small group of writers, the friends of Ginsberg, Kerouac, or Burroughs. A joke among Beat writers (attributed to both Gregory Corso and Gary Snyder) persisted in various forms: "Three friends does not make a generation." A narrow definition of the Beat Generation would include only those who consistently defined themselves as "Beat" writers: Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs, though they both rejected the label at times, are considered core, defining members of the Beat Generation. The Beat literary movement was short-lived. Most of the work Kerouac published in the 1960s had been written during his creative peak in the 1950s.

On the Road by Kerouac is the story of two young men, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, who travel frantically back and forth across the American continent seeking thrills. The novel is actually a thinly veiled account of Kerouac's own life in the late 1940s, when he fell under the spell of a charismatic drifter named Neal Cassady (represented by Mori-arty in the novel). Every episode in the novel was inspired by real-life events. The book, which would probably be considered rather tame today, shocked readers in 1957 with its depiction of drug use and promiscuous sex. Many critics attacked the work as evidence of the increasing immorality of American youth. Other critics saw it as a groundbreaking work of originality. American readers, fascinated with the bohemian lifestyle of the characters, turned the novel into a best-seller.

Beat literature retains its popularity decades later because the writers of the Beat Generation must ultimately be judged by their work, not by any real or imagined influence on popular culture. Allen Ginsberg's poetry is still revered. The nightmarish visions of William Burroughs continue to influence post-Modern writers. Finally, Kerouac's On the Road is still a campus favorite, and continues to draw scholarly criticism.







At the time that the term "beatniks" were coined, there was a trend amongst young college students to adopt the stereotype, with men wearing goatees and berets, rolling their own cigarettes and playing bongos. Fashions for women included black leotards and wearing their hair long, straight and unadorned in a rebellion against the middle-class standards which expected women to get permanent treatments for their hair. (you mean a perm? LOL). Marijuana use was the associated drug of choice with the subculture...like that's a surprise huh?

So what about us girls? There is typically very little mention of women in a history of the early Beat Generation, and a strong argument can be made that this omission is largely a reflection of the sexism of the time rather than a reflection of the actual state of affairs. The poet and anarchist Elsa Gidlow, who hitchiked from New York (where she had lived in Greenwich Village) to the San Francisco area in 1940, is representative of independent-minded women in the 'bohemian background' of the popularly recognized Beat Generation. Gidlow later became an integral member of the West Coast circle that included philosopher Alan Watts. Gregory Corso insisted that there were many female beats, in particular, he claimed that a young woman he met in mid-1955 (Hope Savage, also called "Sura") introduced Kerouac and Ginsberg to subjects such as Li Po and was in fact their original teacher regarding eastern religion.

Joan Vollmer (later, Joan Vollmer Burroughs) was clearly there at the beginning of the Beat Generation, and all accounts describe her as a very intelligent and interesting woman. But she did not herself write and publish, and unlike Neal Cassady, no one chose to write a book about her; she has gone down in history as the wife of William Burroughs, killed in an accidental (or perhaps "accidental") shooting...and the list goes on... a number of female beats have perservered, notably Joyce Johnson (author of Minor Characters); Carolyn Cassady (author of Off the Road); Hettie Jones (author of How I Became Hettie Jones); Joanne Kyger (author of As Ever; Going On; Japan and India Journals; Just Space); and the aforementioned Diane di Prima (author of This Kind of Bird Flies Backward, Memoirs of a Beatnik). Later, other women writers emerged who were strongly influenced by the beats, such as Janine Pommy Vega (published by City Lights) in the 1960s, and Patti Smith in the early 1970s.

Curious to know what famous Beatnik were you most like? Even the test is sextist and male! Find out by clicking here. 

I know I live in Crazyville! If you wanta take a Beatnik Questionnaire, it's fun, click here.  

Which Beatnik Am I?: (assuming I was a man and all)

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Jack Kerouac (far out!)

(Play it daddy-0!)

Imagine me...Jack Kerouac. yeah, right..."The only one's for you are the mad ones (which is why you hung out with the beats in the first place). You loved adventure, travel, spontaneous in every way. You took Cassidy's adventure but matched it with a college wit. Too bad you died a depressed alcoholic in his forties who still lived with his mother. We can't place you in any period of his writing...you're just Kerouac." 

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and since this test is no longer available on this site, and you're feeling a little juiced up while at the bar, and enjoying listening to this Beatnik box (which has a few surprises), you might wanta explore this Lover Style test. This test is about sex. It is also about a whole lot more than sex--it is about your overall Style when it comes to sex, romance and matters of the heart.  Go ahead, you know you wanta so click here.

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How To Be a Beatnik Stereotype!

1. Go to a thrift store and buy a beret, skinny pants, skirts and tights (females), and a comfy turtleneck. Everything must be black, no exceptions.
2. Pick up some books by the Beat authors. And go memorize Howl by Ginsberg. And read On the Road by Kerouac.
3. Get a notebook and write your own poetry. Free verse poetry. It doesn't have to rhyme or even make a lot of sense. It's finally okay to be incoherent!
4. Go to independent coffee shops for poetry readings, and read your poetry.
5. Think a lot about consciousness, religion, sex, drugs, and the human experience.
6. Buy a set of bongos.
7. If you are male, grow a goatee/soul patch. If female, lay off the blush and go heavy on the black kohl. Wear your hair long and straight. You may consider heavy, dramatic bangs.
8. Listen to jazz. Anaïs Nin called jazz the language of the soul. You can quote her on that, but don't say you got it from here.