On May 1, 2024, we will release the next issue of Beatdom. This one will be dedicated to the West Coast Beat scene. For this issue, we are partnering with Coastal Awakening, an organisation based in San Luis Obispo on the central coast of California.
Let’s look at what you can expect from Beatdom #24…
Contents
As always, we have a mix of essays, interviews, reviews, poetry, and so on.
Lisa Says
In 1956, Gregory Corso went west and joined some of his Beat peers in San Francisco. Kurt Hemmer looks at his time there and his relationship with Lisa Brinker.
And the Hippies Were Boiled in their Tank Tops
Without the Beats, could there have been a hippie movement? And did the Beats and beatniks evolve into hippies? Leon Horton investigates.
Among the Stars
Robert Duncan was an important figure in the San Francisco scene in the post-war period. Here, Yorio Hirano offers an in-depth study of his poetics. Translation by Matz McLaughlin.
Go West Young Beats!
The Beat writers began as an East Coast phenomenon but in the mid-fifties became associated with the West Coast. Ryan Mathews looks at how this came to be.
Sylas Yarad talks with renowned poet Eileen Myles about the Beat writers and gender.
He, Leo: A Review
Lew Welch is a poet whose work is “firmly rooted in California and Oregon,” according to a new biography by Ewan Clark, which makes this excellent book a perfect subject for our West Coast issue. More from the publisher here.
Private(s) Practice
This essay by Kaley Hensley pitches the idea of Diane di Prima as a Greek “priestess” in Memoirs of a Beatnik.
Soheyl Dahi Interview
Ryan Mathews speaks with San Francisco-based publisher Soheyl Dahi about his fascinating life, including his working and personal relationships with figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Kenneth Rexroth: West Coast Bard
When the Beats arrived in California in the mid-fifties, Kenneth Rexroth was the pre-eminent West Coast poet. The Beats quickly surpassed him in fame, leading to much ill feeling, but Rexroth’s role in fostering a San Francisco poetry scene open to Beat poetry should not be overlooked.
Gary Snyder Noticed My Face Tattoo
Tony Wallin-Sato recalls a series of meetings with Gary Snyder.
On the SF Scene
Weldon Kees was one of the most highly regarded poets in San Francisco until his 1955 disappearance. Here, we reprint an essay he wrote in 1952 about the artistic scene in the city shortly before the Beat invasion.
Discoveries
In this memoir, Barry Garelick writes about meeting poet ruth weiss at an open-mic night.
Material Wealth: A Review
We recently read an incredible new book by Pat Thomas (a Beatdom contributor many years ago). Material Wealth is a brilliant exploration of the Allen Ginsberg archives, including photos and letters and much, much more. You can read an excerpt here.
If you have any problems purchasing Beatdom #24, get in contact and we’ll try to help.
David S. Wills
David S. Wills is the founder and editor of Beatdom literary journal and the author of books about William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Hunter S. Thompson. His most recent book is a study of the 6 Gallery reading. He occasionally lectures and can most frequently be found writing on Substack.