The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels, and Hipsters, 1944-1960 (Circles of the Twentieth Century) [Paperback]

Steven Watson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Circles of the Twentieth Century | Publication Date: February 3, 1998

The second volume in the acclaimed series that brings to life the groups of avant-garde writers, artists, and patrons who were keystones of what has come to be called Modernism, this book sheds new light on the hard-living, maverick poets and novelists--William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and others--who coalesced into the Beats. Illustrations.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the second volume in the series "Circles of the Twentieth Century," devoted to avant-garde writers, Watson (The Harlem Renaissance, Pantheon, 1995) traces the lives of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, and company from their initial meetings in New York to their rise to literary fame. Watson also examines confluent movements like the San Francisco renaissance and the Black Mountain School. Watson offers no startling revelations, but he writes gracefully and has a gift for synthesis. An innovative book design makes interesting use of the margins for quotations, photos, and brief notes. This lively companion to John Tytell's Naked Angels (LJ 4/15/76) belongs in most literature collections.?William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Watson's no-holds-barred chronicle of Beat writers is part of the Circles of the Twentieth Century series, which is based on the belief that artistic innovation arises out of "constellations" of creative people. The theory is particularly appropriate when it comes to the close, even intimate friendships among the primary figures of the Beat movement: William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg, and their icon and love object, the rapacious Neal Cassady. Watson juggles the life stories of each of these driven fellows in his fluid commentary, which is well supported by photographs, quotes, and sidebars. We learn the pertinent facts about each man's childhood and the winding paths that lead to their fertile, if turbulent relationships, which were based on a shared passion for experimentation with drugs, sexuality, and spontaneous literary expression. Watson covers all their wild adventures, documents the feverish creation of such galvanizing and influential works as On the Road, "Howl," and Naked Lunch, and describes the widening of the Beat circle to include such luminaries as Gary Snyder and Michael McClure. The Beats' fusion of life, legend, and literature was gutsy, unique, and indelible, and recognition of their importance continues to grow. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon (February 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375701532
• ISBN-13: 978-0375701535
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Birth to Death the Beats..., December 28, 1999

By 

Jennifer Coltman - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels, and Hipsters, 1944-1960 (Circles of the Twentieth Century) (Hardcover)

The most unbiased and honest writing on the beats I've read to date. Steven Watson stears clear of glorification and awe, and brings you inside the little worlds of these real life characters. Swings you around to the outside looking in observing these dark lost drug induced literary masters. I especially appreciate the in depth look at Joan Vollmer Burroughs, an often overlooked main character of the Beats.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for so many reasons...., August 29, 2000

By 

J. Michael Showalter (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels, and Hipsters, 1944-1960 (Circles of the Twentieth Century) (Paperback)

This is a great book for a numer of reasons. I'm going to list a number of them and then write a bit in conclusion.

1. It deals with many of the 'Beats' rather than focusing, as is typical, on Kerouac and Ginsberg and forgetting the rest of them. It provides an illuminating portrait of Burroughs (who is definately a key figure), Neal Cassidy (who is also), and alot of the girls, etc. who were around them. 2. It provides reading lists, etc. of what they were reading. This is HUGE if you want to understand the bitterness/despair that is found in Burroughs and Ginsberg... as well as insight into how they interpretted their life and times (i.e. because they read these books, they in a dialogic sense would interpret things along such-and-such lines.... as a psychologist would interpret a 'vision of God' one way and a believer a second.... 3. Lots of minutia/trivia that is just fun.

It's a really good book and more stimulating than one would expect from a book that is in the shape of a square. It would not suffice as a literary biography of any of the authors contained in the 'movement' nor could it supplant any social history book. But, it suppliments them and is fun to read: sort of an academic version of 'Seventeen' at points. I really love this book. I'd definately recommend this book to anyone who wants to become first among their band of friends if all their friends want to do is read a little bit of 'On the Road' and 'Howl' (and then think they know about this time period....

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By Far the Best, July 4, 2002

By 

TheMaddHatter (Lakewood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels, and Hipsters, 1944-1960 (Circles of the Twentieth Century) (Paperback)

This is by far the best book about the Beats that I have read to date. I really enjoyed the entire book. Its a quick read, has fun anecdotes, quotes and definitions printed in the margins of every page, and delivers a tremendous amount of information about the Beat Generation. I was impressed by the amount of history covered for the main Beat characters, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Carr, and Burroughs. I especially enjoyed the in depth looks at their first meetings with one another and the focus on what each one was reading during the early years. The aforementioned writers are definitely the focus of this book, but there is also a decent amount of time dedicated to minor characters involved in the generation.
You really can't go wrong with this book, rather this will be your first introduction to the Beats or your a veteran of Beat lore, you will definitely gain something from reading this text. This book also includes an awesome year to year run down of important events in the Beat movement shown in correlation with important social and political events of the time. If you enjoy this book you may want to check out 'Rolling Stone's Book of the Beats' also, another great addition to the Beat fan's bookshelf.