The Beat Generation, it seems, dominated American culture between two major wars. The history books will tell you that they rose out of the Second World War, or as a the group emerged as a reaction to the post-WWII affluence of America. In fact, the Beats began as a circle of friends around Columbia University during WWII, and developing in the post-war era. Although not often dealt with in Beat literature, the war was of importance in the creation of the group, as one might expect.
By the time of the Vietnam War and the swathes of protesters across America, the Beats were largely considered a thing of the past, yet key members of the Beat Generation were rather vocal about the situation – having cast off the apolitical nature of their formal Beat ethos. It was Ginsberg, after all, who bridged the gap between generations and ushered in the Hippie movement.
War is something that shaped the Beats and yet it is a relatively unexplored element of their legacy. It is also the topic of the next issue of Beatdom.
As usual, we are looking for essays, fiction, poetry, and artwork pertaining to the Beats and/or war. Preference will be given to “and.” We like to be surprised, so preference will so be given to the more interesting elements. What was Burroughs talking about when he said this was a “war universe”? What made Corso write his classic poem, “Bomb”? What did Kerouac mean about American jeeps on the Firing Line? And as for Ginsberg… Well, his anti-war credentials leave a massive scope for study.
So go ahead. Surprise us. Impress us.
Or, if not, ask us for ideas. We have plenty.
Send your submissions or queries to the usual address: editor at beatdom dot com. The deadline is 1st May, 2014.
More submissions guidelines here.
See some essay ideas here.
