Challis, Chris (Burroughs,William S.; Cassady, Neal; Corso, Gregory; Ferlinghetti, Lawrence; Ginsberg, Allen; Huncke, Herbert; Kerouac, Jack et al.)

Quest for Kerouac

ISBN: 0571133568
London, England: Faber and Faber Limited, 1984. First Edition. Softcover. "Chris Challis's interest in the Beat Generation, their literature and their lifestyle, began, like that of many of his contemporaries, as a youthful enthusiasm. That interest developed into a thesis and many critical articles, and led to personal contact or correspondence with many of the Beats themselves. In due course he made the physical and spiritual journey across the United States described in this book, which is a work of criticism that shares features of the travel book and the picaresque novel. In the context of a sharply observed and highly entertaining view of contemporary America as seen 'on the road,' is a considered assessment of the work of, among others, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso as well as that of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady..." (from back cover) The now-classic travelogue-critique of Jack Kerouac & the Beat Generation by Chris Challis, the acclaimed British poet & historian. A primary example of the penetrating insight into the Beat Generation & its major figures by our kindred cousins across the pond (think of Dr. Oliver Harris' supremely authoritative scholarship on William S. Burroughs). With a delightful illustration of the Beat Founding Fathers as if depicted on Mt. Rushmore by Ian Pollock reproduced on front cover. Trade-format softcover original, first edition published in the UK. Found & retained between pages 26-27 is a bookmark for the Montclair Book Center in New Jersey. We have also retained two short, useful & enthusiastic writings in pencil from a previous seller or owner on blank front endpaper & title page. Interestingly, the only pencil marginalia within the book proper are bracketings, sometimes with arrows, of the references to WSB, Ginsberg & Herbert Huncke in the index. A rewarding, & increasingly rare, chronicle of British Beat Enlightenment. In fine condition with mild rubbing, scratching & occasional light spotting to front, back covers & spine; mild wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; mild browning to edges of text block. Interior very fine with marginalia & writings in pencil noted above; mild browning mostly to blank margins of page leaves; tiny bumps, faint creases at corners of same. Bookmark ephemera very fine with only short, faint creases & tiny bumps at/ near upper edge & corners where it protrudes from the book. Fine. [Item #4109]

Price: $30.00