Reading the Beats

In response to a question from a valued DicksnJanes podcast listener, I started this blog. "Okay Dude - here is your challenge: Give me (us, the listeners) a list of 4 of the "beat" books we SHOULD read.....in the order you think we should read them..... Stevie Z"

That is a challenge Stevie - but an easy one for me to answer - by twisting it around a bit. I honestly think if anyone was inclined to read the Beats they would have already done so, on their own, in their youth. Most any college student in their 20s has picked up a copy of On the Road (used preferably), if they hadn't already read it in high school. If not, don't bother; you're too old, the befreerunaway dream is over.

But it's not too late to appreciate the Beats, in fact, the time is right, as I think we're now entering a new Beat era. My suggestion is to sidestep Jack, and concentrate on the overall 1950s Beat movement. There are a slew of good books available, and from own Beat library I recommend the following:

• The Beat Generation: the tumultuous '50s movement and it's impact on today, Bruce Cook, 1971
• The Beat Vision, Arthur & Kit Knight, 1987 (cover photo of Allen Ginsberg & Bob Dylan at Kerouac's gravesite)
• The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats: the Beat Generation and American Culture, 1999 (lots of interesting material)
• Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation, 1995

For those still wanting to know more about the King of the Beats (how he hated that!), I'd start off with Kerouac, by Ann Charters, 1973. Another good one, but maybe difficult to find, is Desolate Angel, a biography: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation and America, by Dennis McNally, 1979. And one more which is sure to upset diehard Kerouac fans because it focuses on his homosexual tendencies is Subterranean Kerouac: the Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac, by Ellis Amburn,1998.

Now if you still want to read something by Kerouac himself, I'd recommend one of my favourites, The Dharma Bums. Or if you're interested more in the dark side of Jack, try Big Sur, the story of his breakdown, and perhaps the most revealing and painful of his books.

So Stevie, it's readers choice, no particular order, just go by whatever you can get your hands on in a decent used book shop. Never buy Kerouac new! And never let anyone tell you you have to start with On the Road.

As if....

Ya, like 'As if I need to be spending more time doing stuff like this when I'm still trying to convince myself there's so much other real world more important (ha!) stuff I SHOULD be taking care of.' But hey, here we are eh, so let's get going...

The short: Stevie asked me which 4 Beat books my DicksnJanes podcast listeners should read and in what order, and I figured that was worthy of a reply longer than I'd want to post in the comments section, and next thing I know, I have a new 'blawg' - as in (hopefully) filled with awe, cuz awe is what we don't share enough of.

The long: This could go on forever. But feedback and questions would help, preferably from the dicksnjanes tribe, which of course includes listeners to the aforementioned long running DicksnJanes Podcast. Not that I'll have any problem finding things to write about, but you know, it's nicer if we share.

Stay tuned, subscribe, and I'll get around to answering Stevie's question, okay? BTW, I'm still the Scarborough Dude, cuz I wanna be free to say any dam thing I please. Like if you don't appreciate my style, do us all a favour and fuck off!