"Forest Beatniks" and "Urban Thoreaus": Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure [Hardcover]

Rod Phillips (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0820441597 | ISBN-13: 978-0820441597 | Publication Date: February 1, 2001

The Beat Movement, which first rose to attention in 1955, has often been viewed by critics as an urban phenomenon--the product of a postwar youth culture with roots in the cities of New York and San Francisco. This study examines another side of the Beat Movement: its strong desire for a reconnection with nature. Although each took a different path in attaining this goal, the writers considered here--Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure--sought a new and closer connection to the natural world. These four writers, along with many of their counterparts in the Beat era, provided a crucial spark that helped to ignite the environmental movement of the 1970s and provided the foundation for the development of the current "Deep Ecology" worldview.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rod Phillips' essays gave me a keener sense of the importance of my old friends' writings." -- Donald Allen, Editor of Evergreen Review and The New American Poetry: 1945-1960

About the Author

Rod Phillips is an Assistant Professor of Writing and American Studies in Michigan State University's James Madison College. He earned his Ph.D. in American Studies at Michigan State and is widely published as a critic, poet, and journalist. He has written numerous articles for journals in the field of American literature, including essays on Herman Melville, Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Kathy Acker.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820441597
• ISBN-13: 978-0820441597
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,009,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beats Reconsidered--Finally, June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: "Forest Beatniks" and "Urban Thoreaus": Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure (Hardcover)

Finally, a scholar has dug through the pop culture mud of the Beats to bedrock below: They weren't just citified tea-heads as Life magazine in the Fifties (and too many academics since) would have us believe. These writers were deeply tuned into the natural world and drew upon it for inspiration and some of their best writing--even the seemingly most urban of the lot--Kerouac. Case and point: Kerouac's "greening" in "Dharma Bums." Phillips' discussion of this novel is especially astute; and it sent me digging for my old copy. Similarly, Phillips' treatment of the Beats and Buddhism (Snyder in particular) is also refreshingly clear and original--not an easy thing to do. Phillips' research, including interviews with McClure, Welch and Snyder, is thorough and convincing. Moreover, his prose is sharp and unencumbered with trendy jargon. I predict Beat scholars will reconsider certain assumptions upon reading this book--and Beat fans will find this to be a unique and excellent addition to the ever-growing Beat canon.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greening of the Beats, January 19, 2002

By 

Patrick Julian Cassidy (San Francisco...Author of "A Journey to Bohemia") - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Forest Beatniks" and "Urban Thoreaus": Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure (Hardcover)

The author sheds light on a side of the beat culture
which has been ignored by the mass media for far too
long. Many a word has been written about the Beat's
frontal attack upon the sleepy surburban world of
America circa late 1950s, but few have bottered to
examine their spiritual awareness as related to Mother
Earth. They were fresh voices who found spiritual
rebirth through nature and were in the forefront of
those questioning the prevalent doctrine of consummerism.
I would heartily recommend this well written book.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: "Forest Beatniks" and "Urban Thoreaus": Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure (Hardcover)

Wow- what a book. This book sheds new light on a topic I feel has already been covered. Phillips' personal interviews are fantastic. I would love to have Phillips for a professor, wait- I do. Phillips is the man, and so is his book. If you are reading this Dr. Phillips can I have a 4.0? You know who I am!