Ecstasy of the Beats: On the Road to Understanding

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Dundurn, 2007 M09 30 - 317 pages
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Who were the beats? Not the sandle-clad "beatniks" of popular lore but dedicated writers, experimenters, skit improvisers, theorizers, hedonists, close friends, bisexual free lovers, shapers of the future. The beats hung out at Columbia university and cheap Times Square cafeterias, devouring ideas. David Creighton shows how the world has taken up their message. In Ecstasy of the Beats he gives a fresh portrait of Carolyn Cassady, "Queen of the Beats," and of the four major Beat writers.

Jack Kerouac's On the Road gave a pattern of adventure to restless youth, Allen Ginsberg donned a prophet's robe by writing Howl, William Burroughs warned against control mechanisms in Naked Lunch, and Neal Cassady's high-energy life made him an icon of freedom. Travelling widely to see where they lived, Creighton enriches the meaning of On the Road and other Beat classics. He invites the reader on the Beats' journey toward ever-deeper levels of understanding and provides interesting insight into Kerouacs French-Canadian roots.

 

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Though my neighbor Dave (David Creighton, author and resident of next town west on the L Ontario shoreline) and is clearly a fan of Kerouac et al, his connections to the writers are tenuous, including as a come-on, posing at an El Paso (a place the core Beats would never have been seen dead in) shop on the back cover with an Elvis Presley mannequin. Nevertheless, appears a likeable guy to chat with over a drink and discuss the merits of luggage-free travel.  

Selected pages

Contents

Acknowledgements
9
A ROAD TRIP A ROAD TRIP Manhattan 2007
11
GO FOR BROKE Bracknell England 2005
15
PUT UP YOUR DUKES AND WRITE New York City 1940s
29
RAGGED AND ECSTATIC JOY Denver 1940s
53
A PLANK WHERE ALL THE ANGELS DOVE OFF San Francisco 1940s1960s
71
ROUGH AND HARD AND EXTREME Mexico 1950s1960s
101
NOT AKIN TO LUSTFUL THOUGHTS Europe and Africa 1950s1960s
117
CANADA WAS MY BOSOM OF GOD Quebec 1950s1960s and Early Years
211
DOWN INTO THE DARKS Southern United States 1940s1960s
227
EVERYTHING IS ECSTASY Central United States 1940s1990s
241
FIVE MILLION OF STARS Quebec and Toronto
265
Chronology
275
Family Trees
281
Maps
285
Suggested Reading and Viewing
293

THE PERFECT ECSTASY Lowell 1920s to Present
135
GOLDEN ASH BLISSFUL EMPTINESS New England 1890s1960s
161
IT WAS PURE IN MY HEART New Jersey and New York 1920s1990s
175
Index
303
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Ecstasy of the Beats: On the Road to Understanding
David Creighton
Limited preview - 2007
Ecstasy of the Beats: On the Road to Understanding
David Creighton
Limited preview - 2007
Ecstasy of the Beats: On the Road to Understanding
David Creighton
Snippet view - 2007

Common terms and phrases

Allen Ginsberg America amid asked Avenue Beat Hotel Beats became Burroughs's called Carolyn Cassady Carr Cassady's Catholic City Lights Columbia death Denver Dharma Bums dream drug Duluoz East ecstasy Edie Parker father Ferlinghetti film final finally find first floor friends girl Grauerholz Herbert Huncke Holmes holy Hotel Howl Jack Kerouac Jack's jazz Joan John John Cassady Kesey kids later laughing Lawrence literary living Louis Lowell LuAnne Manhattan married Memere Mexico mother Naked Lunch Neal Cassady Neal's never night novel once Orlovsky Pacific Park poem poetry poets Pull My Daisy Quebec recalled reflects Road Sampas San Francisco says Carolyn spirit Stella Street talk tells there's thing told took town trip Visions of Cody Visions of Gerard West wife William Burroughs woman writing wrote York young

Popular passages

Page 21 - Vext the dim sea : I am become a name ; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known ; cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments...‎
Appears in 658 books from 1803-2008
Page 26 - I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!‎
Appears in 220 books from 1923-2007

About the author (2007)

David Creighton wrote two books and Losing the Empress(Dundurn), about the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, which led to a role in Robert Ballard's PBS documentary Lost Liners. He likes to travel luggage-free, staying in offbeat places like Amsterdam's Hotel Brian, but otherwise lives with his wife, Judy, in Burlington, Ontario.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Ecstasy of the Beats
TitleEcstasy of the Beats: On the Road to Understanding
G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series
AuthorDavid Creighton
Editionillustrated
PublisherDundurn, 2007
ISBN1550027344, 9781550027341
Length317 pages
  
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