Various (Burroughs, William S.; Cassady, Carolyn; Cassady, Neal; Ginsberg, Allen; Holmes, John Clellon; Huncke, Herbert; Kerouac, Jack; Kerouac-Parker, Edith; Knight, Arthur; Knight, Kit; Nicosia, Gerald; McAllister, Mick; McClure, Michael; McKenzie, James; Waldman, Anne; Whalen, Philip; Tytell, John et al.)

Kerouac and the Beats: A Primary Sourcebook

New York, NY: Paragon House, 1988. First Edition. Hardcover. As much an anthology as a commentary on the state of the (Beat literary) commentariat, “Kerouac and the Beats: a Primary Sourcebook” did, in one concrete, albeit localized sense, what those involved might’ve rightly referred to as “God’s Work.” For it assembled in concert some of the “best minds” in Beat literary criticism (something which, at that point, was still in its relative infancy) and represented them by way of works submitted to Arthur & Kit Knight’s groundbreaking Beat periodical, ‘the unspeakable visions of the individual.’ Named after a phrase in one of Jack Kerouac’s (1922-1969) monumental, albeit criminally overlooked contributions to literary criticism (the “Belief & Technique for Modern Prose”), the Knights’ magazine was key to ensuring “the Beat went on,” — prioritizing the publication of not only new works by its roster of aging-though-active Beat Generation authors, but of literary critical works that slowly but surely helped give credence to the idea of Beat literary scholarship as a legitimate endeavor. The contributor list, in full, reads as follows: [1] “Poor God,” by Carolyn Cassady; [2] “An Interview with William S. Burroughs,” by John Tytell; [3] “An Interview with Philip Whalen,” by Anne Waldman; [4] an excerpt from Herbert Huncke’s devastating masterwork, “Guilty of Everything”; [5] “His Absence Was All There Was: an Interview with Jan Kerouac,” by Gerald Nicosia; [6] “Letter to Allen Ginsberg,” by Jack Kerouac; [7] “Letter to John Clellon Holmes,” & [8] “Letter to Neal Cassady,” also by Kerouac; [9] “To Europe and Return—Letters, 1957-58,” excerpts from the correspondence of Kerouac & Holmes; [10] “An Interview with John Clellon Holmes” by John Tytell; [11] “Exile’s Journal (from the 1960s ),” also by the noted author of “Go!”; [12] “An Interview with Michael McClure” by Mick McAllister; [13] “Jack & Neal in Grosse Pointe,” from Edie Kerouac-Parker’s memoir, “You’ll Be Okay,” & last but not least, [14] “An Interview with Allen Ginsberg” conducted by James McKenzie. While the fact of the Beats’ worthiness for inclusion in what we think of as the Western canon laughably remains “up for discussion” to some — a position taken by the perilously un-hip and intellectually flatulent…by self-righteous buzzkills, academy-wide — the Good Fight is Still Being Fought (a reality to which the good work of our friends at the European Beat Studies Network [ebsn.eu] continually attests). In closing, the Knights’ “Sourcebook” remains a testament to that spirit & endeavor: equal parts “snapshot of a time and place,” — of the real-time process behind the “watering” of the Beat Generation’s “flowering” legacy, — and a delectable array of scholarly hors d’oeuvres, all culled (with precision and purpose) from the Knights' classic Beat-literary journal. [ISBN: 1-55778-067-6]. Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket: First Edition, as stated on copyright page (“First Edition, 1988”); First Printing, with no reference to subsequent printings thereon. Book in fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back cover & spine; some age-typical toning, spotting, yellowing present at front & back of interior FFEP, continuing ever so slightly (with two tiny exhibits of same) onto half-title page before halting there; similar toning, spotting, yellowing present at interior pastedown of rear board & the recto of RFEP. Dust-jacket in very fine condition with only correspondingly slight shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back cover & spine. Fine / Very Fine. [Item #5271]

Price: $30.00