2022-23 Beat Poet Laureate (England)

Tag: Kerouac


  • ‘Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars’ & the Beat mythology of the supertramp

    ‘Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars’ & the Beat mythology of the supertramp

    What songs sing the sorrow of homelessness from Ginsberg’s metaphoric hydrogen jukebox? Such mythology of the heavenly liberated hobo is often drawn from, for example, W.H. Davies (1871-1940) – the original supertramp. Davies, Newport, Wales-born wanderer of America, who famously settled in Gloucestershire, was frowned upon by Muse Colony of Frost (1874-1963), Lascelles Abercrombie (1881-1938),…

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  • Kerouac & Suffering

    Kerouac & Suffering

    This article is based on a talk prepared for a reading in Oxford to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Beat Generation author and poet, Jack Kerouac (March 12 2022). Delivered as a review and introductory essay on the nature of suffering in Jack’s work, selections are made from a variety of texts for…

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