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Helios (Part II): A Journey To The Land Of The Whispering Wind
As Stephen and company become lost in the seas of postmodernism, they question the big mysteries of life including a loss of self in the modern world, the reality and nature of God, and a resolution to the search of meaning in a world thrown into chaos. With this article, we continue our voyage through the turbulent seas of Helios.
Helios: A Journey To The Land Of The Whispering Winds.
With use of the metaphor Helios, Joyce describes the journey of Stephen Dedalus as he encounters the waters of the wayward winds, and the formless world of modernity portrayed by the wandering rocks circling around the outer boundaries of space-time.
In Memorium: A Great Man Meets His Death. Reflections On The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
When I first heard of the death of Hunter S. Thompson, I had a desire to write an essay expressing thoughts on the memory of his passing. Since this is a page dedicated to the writings of the Beats, it seemed only appropriate to remember Thompson, but the more I thought about his death, the harder it became to write on the man without avoiding the standard cliches that often abound on the passing of a great man. For the past month, I have given a great deal of thought on how to express the emotions felt by the literary community on the hole left in the genre of modern fiction since his death. Eulogies are so hard to write, especially when a writer as unique as Thompson was leaves the literary world. His distinct personality will undoubtedly be missed.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ? Part VI
In the first half of the twentieth century, James Joyce composed one of the most influential novels in the history of the literary canon. The novel begins with the journey of a wanderer. This journey is portrayed against a backdrop of time moving within the boundaries of imagination. This sixth article of a larger series looks at the path of Stephen Dedalus within the mythic narrative of Telemachus.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ? Part V
As can be seen in the previous four articles, James Joyce took the novel to new heights, and carried the mind of the reader to places where he or she had never been taken before, by re-telling an old story in a new place and time. This article is the fifth in a series looking at Ulysses. In this article, we delve into the meaning of a strange word: Chrysostomos.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ? Part IV
This fourth in a series studying the novel Ulysses, begins a study of the first chapter. Stephen is introduced, and the reader sees him struggling in the next phase of his intellectual journey: that of the transformation from student to artist.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ? Part III
Time moves through the pages of Ulysses as the feathers of an arrow spinning in the currents of a windstorm, but this great author managed to hit his mark. Part three delves a little deeper into the analysis of Ulysses.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ? Part II
If you hang out at City Lights Bookstore long enough, sooner or later, you will have to know about Ulysses. This article continues to examine the elements working inside this famous novel, what they mean, and the reasons for the novel becoming banned on the American shores in the l930's.
Greenwich Village Bohemia: A Winter Wonderland Turns Into An American Renaissance(Part III).
There was certainly a great deal happening in Greenwich Village during the heyday of a beat cultural scene that took years to develope. Why do such artistic scenes suddenly appear, and then so mysteriously disappear at the seemingly height of their popularity. This article will look at the reasons for the rise and fall of artistic scenes, and delve deeper into the cultural resurgence that seemed to grow in the Old Village.
What Did James Joyce Mean When He Wrote Ulysses Anyway ?
When James Joyce created his novel, "Ulysses", he is said to have written the best novel of the twentieth century. The only problem with the book was that it had so many literary connotations for the average reader to understand. "Ulysses" is the type of book that literary persons are fond of discussing at coffee parties and other social get togethers. So, this year my christmas preasent to you is to give you a brief stripped down version of "Ulysses" in less than 1,400 words. Instead of spending years and years to understand this book, you will know how to discuss this novel with the best tweed suit in the room. Merry Christmas and a Happy Bloomsday Of A New Year !!
Greenwich Village Bohemia: A Winter Wonderland Turns Into An American Renaissance(Part II).
As the snow rained down upon Greenwich Village, the beginnings of a wonderful art movement were fixing to stir those awakenings of the literary mind. In this segment of Greenwich village memories, we continue our journey through the steps of the poetic past of the village.
Greenwich Village Bohemia: A Winter Wonderland Turns Into An American Renaissance.(Part I).
Greenwich Village had a long literary tradition long before the beats ever arrived, and as San Francisco was exploding into new fronteirs of the mind, a different sort of reanaissance was blooming in the spring winds of New York. With Greenwich Village Bohemia, our steps wander down the old sidewalks, past the old white horse tavern into those literary caverns where poetry is sprung from the waters of love turned into youthful passion.
The Road Into Infinite Wonder: Carlos Castaneda discovers innumerable worlds in the aura of dreams.(Part IV).
In the text of his novels, Carlos Castaneda described a world of magic and wonder. Don Juan became a sort of spiritual mentor for the young Carlos Castaneda, and offered him several techniques to use to enhance his ability to tap into this other world. What were some of these techniques, and how did Carlos Castaneda use them ? We will dive deeper into these other worlds and observe the ways that the author chose to access these magical places.
The Road Into Infinite Wonder: Carlos Castaneda discovers innumerable worlds in the aura of dreams.(Part III)
Carlos Castaneda wandered into the Arizona desert in l968, and returned with stories and tales of the supernatural. Exactly what he experienced is still being debated by scholars. He seems to have left the world stage with more mysteries surrounding his texts than answers given to the questions raised inside the boundaries of those pages. This article seeks to study the mystical teachings of his mentor Don Juan, and tries to understand the difference between meaning and allegory.
The Road Into Infinite Wonder: Carlos Castaneda discovers innumerable worlds in the aura of dreams. (Part II)
Carlos Castaneda led a rather interesting, mysterious, and confusing life. This article attempts to look deeper into the life of this extroidinary man, and also studies his writings to gain a better understanding of his spiritual journey.
Blues Notes Can Also Sing In The Key Of Poetry
Jack Kerouac may be remembered for his novels and the beautiful prose that put together in such novels as On The Road. Many people do not realize it, but Kerouac also wrote poetry that also opened up new realms in literature. By mixing the sound of jazz to the beat rhythms of his poetry, Kerouac also showed his readers that words can also sing beautiful music by using the process and technique of the blues.
The Road Into Infinite Wonder: Carlos Castaneda discovers innumerable worlds in the aura of dreams.(Part I)
While the other writers of the beat generation were exploring world of the arts through the mind, one other poet took the soul on the discovery of the self. With the help of psychadelics, Carlos Castaneda took his readers into realms not seen by the rest of the movement, helping to open up new paths onto the road of personal enlightenment.
Skin Deep: An Inspirational Ode Sung In The Vast Grandeur On The Western American Plains
The Beat Generation sprang from the deserts and oceans encompassing a sprawling American Western Plain. Americans have always shared and drawn from a commonly held vision of the West, but how much of this vision is reality and how much legend ? Karol Griffen seeks to answer this question through her description of the art of producing tatoos in Nevada. Take a drive into the Western ethos in "Skin Deep".
Los Angeles The Other City: Part II
Los Angeles contains the byways and passages of mind within her city streets. Part II of Another City examines the contribution of a new generation of beat writers, and how they like their counterparts are helping to change the face of literature through another decade of interesting and exciting phases.
Los Angeles The Other City: Part I
The Beat movement offered a series of questions as writers attempted to create a new movement. Among them if their efforts would produce a lasting effect on the art world. This article seeks to explore the lasting legacy of the beats, by studying in depth the works of newer contemporary writers operating within the beat tradition.
Greenwich Village Bohemia: A Winter Wonderland Turns Into An American Renaissance (Part III).
There was certainly a great deal happening in Greenwich Village during the heyday of a beat cultural scene that took years to develope. Why do such artistic scenes suddenly appear, and then so mysteriously disappear, at the seemingly height of their popularity. This article will look at the reasons for the rise and fall of artistic scenes, and delve deeper into the cultural resurgence that seemed to grow in the old Village.
Searching For The Amazing Internal Muse
Stimulate your inner frontal lobes: Experience the craft of writing or literature through a Suite 101 University Course today. Find your own poetical muse through the craft of writing.
Sometimes Stars Leave Behind Great Mysteries
December brings to mind not only snow, but celebrations, mistletoe, lights, gifts, and a host of memories wrapped around the experiences associated with Christmas. Many often forget the spirit of these celebrations. Jesus Christ not only made his mark on the history of human civilization, he also left behind an influential religion of the mind, containing mysteries hidden inside the depths of Christianity whose answers still await discovery. Maybe, a more real Jesus will give us a better appreciation of his miraculous birth. Scholars are still discovering answers that only hint at the answers waiting in the ruins of ancient Rome.
A Flower Grows In The Cement Stoned Landscape Of The City: Part III
Life, death, love, hardship. By the time of his death, Gregory Corso had experienced bits of these lessons of life and then some. This article continues to study the life of Corso and how it influenced his poetry through the craft of the written word.
A Flower Grows In The Cement Stoned Landscape Of The City: Part II.
Gregory Corso was a poet who wrote with the heart of emotion, and bled these feelings into words on the printed page. He was not dandy tripping through a field of daisys, however, and saw the world as it exists, often commenting on this reality with a sharp wit that help earn him a reputation as a poet of satire, as well as, one who had mastered the craft of poetic meter. This article will look at some of the poems written by Corso, and study how they helped to convey this tougher sounding edge.
Gregory Corso: A Flower Grows In The Cement Stoned Landscape Of The City
Gregory Corso has been described as a poet from the streets who turned his lessons learned from those years into the beautiful sounds of wonderous poetic verse. Soon his experiences gained from the school of hard knocks gave Corso a vision matched by few other writers in his field. Embraced by academic literary culture, he eventually would take his place with some of the leaders of the beat generation.
The Endless Walk Of Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan was known for his preoccupation with death. His prose and poetry are filled with the beauty and imagery surroundings the mysterious realms of the unknown. After his death, it was thought that his voice had been taken from us forever by the quick hand of fate. The reasons for his suicide may never be fully discovered, but the short narrative that he left behind may provide clues to the curious observer. His notes may also provide an insight into his creativity and brilliance, for no longer may the critics freely assume that his personal story was of a man destroyed by the horrors of drink and opulance, for as his narrative shows, Brautigan was a writer emerging into a new burst of artistic vision that was about to carry him into new cannons of the literary craft.
The Wild Strange Ride Of Hunter S. Thompson: Part III
Hunter S. Thompson's experiences would not only help to produce several controversial novels, but would also help to form the inner conscousness of a future activist and candidate for public office. This article examines the now infamous election for county sheriff in Aspen, Colorado, and the views that Thompson holds to this day on the current power structure. The modern national security state may now be firmly in place, but Thompson is not afraid to comment with honesty and truthfullness on the inner deconstruction of our democracy by forces working inside the corporate world and our own government.
The Wild Strange Ride Of Hunter S. Thompson: Part II
Love him or hate him, Thompson was able to create more controversy than his other beatnick contemporaries. Although, he never acieved the same status in the world of the literary elite as Jack Kerouac, his contribution to the scope of literature makes the craft of his writing worth taking a second glance in the notes and prose of those beat poets of olden times.
The Wild Strange Ride Of Hunter S. Thompson: Part I
Hunter S. Thompson leaves Las Vegas and takes America on a trip through the fear of midnight on the trail of the American dream. Part humor mixed with his own unique blend of satire, his writings convey a sense of wisdom describing the realism of societal and political observations of his day. Thompson still exemplifies the conflict existing inside the mind of a writer, as he deals with the boundaries between the reality of craft, the imagery of the myth of a writer living in the framework of society, and the reality of a man who can never live up to a legend once such status has been achieved.
The Sun Always Shines In A Place Called North Beach: Part V
The final end to this series on the poems contained in, A Coney Island Of The Mind. Ferlinghetti took his readers to many wonderful places of the heart. This articles is the last piece in a series of articles looking at some of the poetry in his book about hotdogs, Coney Island, and the nature of things.
The Sun Always Shines In A Place Called North Beach: Part IV
Sometimes a writer evokes such passion that it takes several essays to analyze a book of his poetry and give it proper justice. Such is the feeling one gets when reading, "A Coney Island Of The Mind." This essay takes a closer look at this book, as well as, the life of this extraordinary man.
The Sun Always Shines In A Place Called North Beach: Part III
This article continues a series on the writings of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, seeking to study some of the techniques the poet/writer uses in his poetry. Special emphasis is placed on his book, "A Coney Island Of The Mind", as we delve deeper into the meaning of his poetry and the craft of his art.
The Sun Always Shines In A Place Called North Beach: Part II
When Lawrence Ferlinghetti launched his small volume of poems entitled, "A Coney Island Of The Mind", the literary world was captured by the sound and meaning contained in his free verse spoken word poetry. The book is an example of Ferlinghetti at his best; for it grasps the meaning of life, by learning from the depth of experience. From this experience can a man learn to live a meaningful life, and it is this poignant notion that his small books of poetry conveys with the sincerity of the heart from the inner stirrings of genius.
Jesus Christ: The World's Most Original Beatnick Takes Spirituality To A Higher Level
Bohemians have been around a long time throughout history. This article looks at one of the most famous radical artists of all time; observing his legacy on the Beat movement, while observing his search for spiritual fullfillment.
The Sun Always Shines In A Place Called North Beach: Part I
The Beats were not always a sad lot, and they did not eternally view the world from the dark humorous viewpoint of a William S. Burroughs. Many of the beats had a love for life that came from the living on the fringe of existence, and were able to avoid the self destructive tendencies of their fellows. This series of articles looks at a survivor, by studying the life and some of the poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti; a positive voice speaking the poetic word in the darkness of an eternal nightsong.
A Reading at the Old Gallery Six: City Lights Publishes Howl In San Francisco Changing The Literary Scene Forever
After Allen Ginsberg read his poem, "Howl" at the Old Gallery Six, the world literary scene would never again be the same. Why was this poem such a great piece of art, and Why should the modern reader delve into the pages of "Howl" today ? A freelance performance at the site of an abandoned car repair shop soon turned on a generation. The genesis of this transformation makes for an interesting story indeed.
Henry Miller Describes The Beauty Of Big Sur Giving Literature The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch: Part III
A closer look at the structure of the novel and another glance at strange literary references in Miller's book. Where did he get that strange name from anyway ?
Henry Miller Describes The Beauty Of Big Sur Giving Literature The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch: Part II
Henry Miller took his reader on a trip of the mind with Big Sur. He showed the beauty of the common man in a prose narrative that eventually proved to be his magnum opus.
Henry Miller Describes The Beauty Of Big Sur Giving Literature The Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch
Big Sur became a center of enlightenment for those participating in the Beat movement. Henry Miller capture the feeling of those times in his book of simple essays and prose.
The Dreamweaver And The Mystic: Part II
Gary Snyder's mystcism continues to play a role in the annals of literature to this day. His light is one that continues to shine through the pages of his poetry and prose.
The Dreamweaver And The Mystic: Gary Snyder Turns Zen Buddhism Into The Art Of Tradition
If anything, the beats were exemplified by their diversity and individuality. Gary Snyder was surely different, and discovered new boundaries for the arts by studying the magic of the ancient eastern cultures of Japan and China.
To Chase The Sun: Charles Bukowski, a barfly before his time. Part II
Sometimes it is difficult to seperate the author from his works. The dividing line between fiction and reality is a thin one. In Bukowski's case, the distinction becomes even more blurry, but at least, he was a good dart thrower.
To Chase The Sun: Charles Bukowski, a barfly before his time.
Charles Bukowski was known as a hard drinker, a lover of many women, and a man who had lived a hard life on the mean streets throughout America. What a lot of people did not know that this societal created legend also cotained a man of incredible brilliance, who lived life to fullest, and wrote from the inner depths of his heart and soul. The first article will look at the myth of Henry Chinaski. The second article will study the author's poetry and prose in more depth.
City Lights Bookstore: Where Poetics Becomes Movement. Part III.
Wandering down the first staircase of City Lights Bookstore, rounding the corner, and passing the old wooden bench; where Allen Ginsberg used to perform his Karmic chants, rests an olden wooden door with the expession, "I AM THE DOOR." What does this strange expression mean anyway ?
City Lights Bookstore: Where Poetics Becomes Movement. Part II.
It is said that witches haunt North Beach, and that legends abound in the alleys and streets around China Town. Ghosts are said to hang out in Washington Square. Visit a place, where time seems to stand still and magic hangs in the air in the most strangest of places.
City Lights Bookstore: Where Poetics Becomes Movement
City Lights Bookstore is a cool hip place to visit. There are a lot of reasons why people visit City Lights from all over the world. The three articles in this series will attempt to give the reader and idea for the popularity of the bookstore, and a sense of the magic that surrounds the streets of North Beach.
A Bus Trip Into The Soul Of Mind
Ken Kesey takes a bus trip with LSD 25, and turns on a generation.
A Song Fades Into The Oblivion Of Night.
Published in 1959, Naked Lunch proved to be one of the most perplexing novels of the century. Confusing imagery and a strange narrative mixed with disturbing language did not help its' original reception. Time proved, however, that the prose of William S. Burroughs was an example of genius for the post-modern age.
Because The World Was Hollow : Part II
Because The World Was Hollow: Part II is the second part of an essay on In Watermelon Sugar. It is hoped that the article will help the reader think about this work in a different way. It is not meant to be the only way of looking at the work; only a perspective that may spark further discussion and thought on the works of Richard Brautigan.
Because The World Was Hollow
This article is a continuation of A syllabic view of death, and seeks to analyze the writings of Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar in further detail.
A Syllabic View Of Death
This article struggles to look at the writing of Richard Brautigan, while paying close attention to his use of prose and syllables within the boundaries of minimalism.
To Wed An Author, Part II
This article coninues to review the book Nobody's Wife, and comments on how it relates to the beat literary movement.
To Wed An Author
A quick review of Nobody's Wife by Joan Kerouac.
A Game Of Chess With Allen Ginsberg: Part II.
This piece continues the story of the earlier article, a game of chess with Allen Ginsberg, and explores themes concerning the beats, and the search for reasons and meaning behind the self destructive quality of so many wonderful American writers.
A Game Of Chess With Allen Ginsberg Part I
This article tries to describe the town of Boulder, Colorado, a town where the great poet used to frequent, describe the environment and feel of the town of Boulder, when he was alive; while giving the reader a glimpse into a meeting with Allen Ginsberg over a game of chess.
Diane Di Prima: The Dark Beauty Of Beat Poetry. Part II.
The second part of this article hopes to further examine the poetry of Diane Di Prima, and to study more closely how the environment surrounding the late fifties and early sixties influenced her writing. Through the use of examples of her poetry, it is hoped that the article will demonstrate the strengths contained in her writing and why she should be remembered in annals of American Poetry.
Diane Di Prima: The Dark Beauty Of Beat Poetry
This article attempts to give the reader a sense of the atmosphere surrounding a Diane Di Prima poem. It also tries to show the reader, through the use of example of specific poems and spoken word, the reasons for Diane Di Prima being considered a great poet. Part II will give more examples and look more closely of how her environment and her life influenced the scope of her poetry.
Hidden Chambers and Unseen Alleyways
It is hoped that Alleys and Hidden Chambers will serve as an introduction for a series of articles, that I am preparing about the beats and their poetry. The purpose of this article is to capture the spirit and tones of the beat era, hence adding to an appreciation of the works of the writers from the beat period. Jazz may hold a reader, but poetry embraces spirit.