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/lit/ - Literature

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5058273 No.5058273 [Reply] [Original]

Just read Howl and other Poems by Allen Ginsberg. Loved it. What's /lit/'s opinion on the Beat Generation? Loved On The Road, Hated Naked Lunch, Loved Howl.

>> No.5058290

>>5058273
Fuck the beats. Incredibly lame, pretentious and full of themselves. You must have hated Naked Lunch because Borroughs wasn't a fucking "beat." Are you old enough to buy alcohol yet anon?

>> No.5058292

>>5058273
What exactly did you hate about Naked Lunch, specifically? Someone picked me up a copy of On the Road, but it was that original scroll edition, and I couldn't finish it.

>> No.5058305

>>5058273
>pocket poets
always makes me laugh

>> No.5058317

>>5058290
yes
>>5058292
I've read it twice, and i felt the way it was layed out was pretentious. I didn't mind the obsessive and drug ridden rants, but the gay sex stories were obsessive allusions to Burroughs lifestyle. That's all I took from it.

I will admit i did laugh at Steely Dan.

>> No.5058324

>>5058305
>pocket poets

not SHIT poets because Ginsberg was Shyte

>> No.5058334

>>5058273
I read The Dharma Bums lately and I found the travel/psuedo-Buddhism to work well with Kerouac's writing style.

>> No.5058341

>>5058334
he's a good travel writer but his stuff feels quite hollow

>> No.5058346

richard brautigan is really good imo

>> No.5058360

>>5058290

confirmed for confusing William S. Burroughs with Augusten Burroughs.

top laff anon. you idiot.

>> No.5058364

>>5058273

Hated Naked Lunch too. Interesting as an idea, but quite unreadable now. I love Burroughs though, especially listening to him speak.

>> No.5058367

>>5058334

Really loved that book, I read it on a trip myself, and really resonated with it.

>> No.5058398

>>5058364
OP here. I've read And The Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks, a Beat Era book written in 1948 with Burroughs and Kerouac, and that was absolutely incredible. It's one of m favourite books of all time.

I think Burroughs is an astonishing writer who, when focused and partially sane, can create works that resonate with a broad group of people. It's a shame his most famous work is a loud of pretentious shit. Just my opinion though.

>> No.5058404

>>5058360
In what regard? I actually don't know who Augusten B is...

>> No.5058423

Check out Junkie by Burroughs. A totally different book than Naked Lunch, its more autobiographical. In my opinion, better.

>> No.5058433

>>5058423
One more: Big Sur by Kerouac, if your into his writing style. But I recommend Junkie over that because Kerouac's style varies from person to person.

>> No.5058437

>>5058360
Not everyone is a faggot like you, Anon. Burroughs not being a beat could just be other-anon's opinion, not due to confusion.

>> No.5058441

>>5058398

Have to agree. Naked Lunch is famous because of the obscenity trial, but he has other better books.

>> No.5058442

>>5058404
>>5058437
it's obviously a joke

>> No.5058456

>>5058404

Sure anon, that's why you confused him with W.S.Burroughs at the top of this thread. I'd be embarrassed too.

>> No.5058514

>>5058437
I don't even think it's a matter of opinion as I'm pretty sure Burroughs explicitly stating he didn't identify with the beats. Certainly his writing is far different from the pre hippy bullshit the other beats were spouting.

>> No.5058561

>>5058514

Sure bud, they were his best friends. None of them called themselves beats.

the 5 mains beats are Burroughs Kerouac Ginsberg Cassady and Corso.

>> No.5058568

>>5058514

William Seward Burroughs II (/ˈbʌroʊz/; also known by his pen name William Lee; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation .

>A primary figure of the Beat Generation .

nice try to rewrite history

>> No.5058623

>>5058568
I don't give a shit what Wikipedia says. If you can't see how Burroughs is different from the beats then you're beyond help.

>> No.5058648

>>5058568
We've had this argument before, but let's have it again.

Most literary (and other artsy) styles, schools, isms whatnot, are defined by style and themes.

What makes a writer belong to the impressionists? What makes a writer belong to the surrealists?

For some reason this does not go for the beats, who are guilty by affiliation only...

If you look at the '5 great', you will find the term is coined quite coherently regarding both style and themes except for one guy sticking awkwardly out. There's really nothing to discuss here. Burroughs writings are worlds apart from that of the other 4 beatnicks.

>> No.5058700

>>5058623

Anon thinks he know better than everyone else. Give it a rest everyone knows Burroughs was one of the beats.

>> No.5058706

I respect them for their goals, but they just werent that talented

>> No.5058894

>>5058706

sure bud

>> No.5058911
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5058911

I loved Junkie and I loved the intro the Naked Lunch. I couldn't totally get into NL though. Surprisingly I really liked the Soft Machine despite a lot of it just being nonsense. Burroughs has a great voice which really shows when it's randomness putting his words together and they still sound cool.

I was big into Kerouac a few years ago. I liked On the Road and Dharma Bums, thought Big Sur was okay. No real desire to read anything else by him right now.

I really liked Howl too. Haven't read anything else by Ginsberg.

>> No.5058913

>>5058273
Some Burroughs, early Ginsburg (Howl, Kaddish), Brautigan, and anybody in the New York School good.

Burroughs is a beat. Compare his work to Ginsburg. Both obscene, anti-, improvisational, comic...

>> No.5059696

>>5058273
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orar-V3y5Sk
>mfw i gave my copy of On The Road to someone i met while hitchhiking