Week 4: Beats

This week we discussed the differences between the actual Beat generation and the Beatnik which was an exploited version of the stereotype, as seen above. Our professor showed us multiple examples (including this one) of poorly associated literature covers claiming to be part of the Beat movement. Silly.

We then discussed jazz, Jack Kerouac and spontaneous prose. It was beautiful and frustrating at the same time. I read The Subterraneans as it was intended, quickly, and as if listening to a great jazz performance. I enjoyed it. I did not overly examine the use or misuse of punctuation, nor did I mark notes in my margins examining each word. Come on people, don't you listen to jazz, don't you read for pleasure? Don't you do anything other than try to be perfect academic intellectuals? Ugh!

Meanwhile, my response paper this week which discussed how this book was written as a jazz performance, and was meant to be read that way?.... A+ bitches. A+.