Beatnik Books


SUBTERRANEAN KEROUAC: THE HIDDEN LIFE OF JACK KEROUAC 
Item #B01
By Ellis Amburn. Drawing upon original interviews and his own relationship with Kerouac, the author reveals an inner man who has not appeared in any previous biography-a man torn by his conflicting desires and beliefs.  One of the most significant biographies to appear in years, and it shows how Kerouac struggled throughought his life with poverty, alcoholism, and his doubts about his own lifestyle of substance abuse, indolence, and promiscuity. 
“Amburn had the advantage of being Kerouac’s last editor, from 1964 to 1969, shares the dedication page of VANITY OF DULUOZ with Kerouac’s wife, Stella, and speaks with an intimate authority not always granted to other Kerouac biographers. Amburn also had access to letters and papers not previously available to other biographers, as well as full cooperation from Kerouac’s literary estate and surviving relatives. In a disclaimer in the introduction, Amburn says that his biography ‘focuses on Kerouac and the world that would inspire his novels, as opposed to being a work that examines his oeuvre from a more literary basis. I leave that formidable task to the literary scholars.’  The curious thing is, by presenting such a critical and intimately detailed portrait of the author himself, Amburn’s book gives the reader more insight into the genesis of Kerouac’s writing than the Kerouac biographies that did attempt to focus on the more literary aspects of Kerouac’s life. “ $17.00
JACK KEROUAC, KING OF THE BEATS: A PORTRAIT 
Item #B02
By Barry Miles is an intimate biography of the writer who has become an American icon. Here is the story of Kerouac as never told before, Barry draws on his close friendship with Ginsberg and Burroughs to offer new insight into both the exuberance and dismay of this symbol of freedom. Hardback, $25.00. 
FERLINGETTI: PORTRAIT 
Item #B05
A stunning, intimate collection of beautiful black and white photographs by Christopher Felver, collected over a twenty-year friendship, underlining Ferlingetti's poignant friendship with poets and comrades throughout his long, hilarious, and generous career. Beautiful, hardback, $25.00 . Sale today $21.00
CITY LIGHTS POCKET POETS ANTHOLOGY
Item #B11
Edited by Lawrence Ferlingetti. This comprehensive selection from the influential City Lights Pocket Poets Series is a landmark retrospective celebrating 40 years of publishing and cultural history. Ferlinghetti, Patchen, Ginsberg, Corso, Prevert, Duncan, Lowery, Kaufman, Picasso, Bly, di Prima, Kerouac, Voznesensky, Hard $19.00.
THE PORTABLE BEAT READER
Item #B13
Edited by Ann Charters. The most comprehensive anthology of the movement's prose and poetry. The Beat Reader includes excerpts from Kerouac, Kesey, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Cassady, Corso, Ferlinghetti, Dylan, and Mailer. $15.00 
HUGE DREAMS: SAN FRANCISCO & BEAT 
Item #B14
By Michael McClure.  For the first time in one volume, “The New Book / A Book of Torture” and “Star” present vividly contrasting sides of poetry’s consciousness. In the former, a classic example of immediate biological expression, Michael McClure simultaneously delves into, and delivers himself from, the self-christened “dark night of the soul”. The latter, a book of wide-ranging exploration, spiritual discovery, and political protest, springs from the essence of our humanity - emotions, the sensations of Eros, and play. Both were influential in expanding poetry into a larger world that focused on nature, the environment, antiwar activities, individual anarchism, Zen Buddhism, jazz, and a kind of romantic mystical thought. Together these two books impart a sense of the rich texture and individuality that fueled the Beat scene.
$17.00. 

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