america adrift

This week, due to time constraints and other nuisances, I have chosen to highlight Bent Sørensen’s excellent three part series on the Beat Generation, specifically, Beat ‘Others.’ It’s an interesting angle on an interesting movement; the role of women and colored people. In the course we had at U. of Copenhagen on American Literature and Culture in the 1950’s, in which we read On the Road and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and other unavoidable literature of that period, there was virtually no time spent on that subject: women and coloreds. The focal point of the course seemed to be the male non-conformist and his rebellion in different forms. Which is all good and well, and something that can be reasonably covered in a one-semester course, but there was always more ways of looking at this period, and the Beats in particular, which Bent does a good job of showing:

“Minor Characters”? Beat ‘Others’ 1

Beat ‘Others’, 2 – Racial Othering

In additional readings, I would like to highlight The Elegant Variation’s recommended list, found in the right side of their front page. I’ve found The Elegant Variation to be one of the most accessible and informative online resources for the avid reader. They carry some really interesting interviews and reviews, but also some different off topic elements from time to time. So definitely worth a look every now and then. Joseph O’Neill and his Netherland features prominently on their list; this novel keeps popping up on every fiction-related place I visit. Maybe that’s a sign. A friend of mine, who is not big on American literature, has been raving to me all the way from Glasgow for over 6 months that I need to read this one.