What happened to the what happened to the beats topic?

[Doreen Peri]

Hmmm...

Somebody asked what happened to the beats... you know, talking about the beat generation writers and stuff like that. Anyway, the topic's gone! Oh well.

I was doing a search trying to find web sites which focus on the beats and was going to come on here and post some links once I found some sites. Thing is, I found quite a few sites about the beats but not even ONE site which was a discussion board about the beats. Strange. I thought there would be lots of them.

Anybody want to have a forum here set aside to talk about the beats? if you want that, I'll set it up.

There are many other eras of literature, also. We were thinking the Lit Forum could cover all that, but if you want to break it down farther and make separate forums for beat stuff or any other era of literature, let me know and we can do that.

[K&D]

doreen, you know I love the beat generation...i think its a great idea.

do you know why i think people like the beat generation, and other groups...in some since could it be the same reason why they say people like watching soap operas?

gives you that sort of small town group feel, like you know cheers, a different time in place where everyone knew eachother and could be real with one another....you don't see that much these days that sence of unity. i don't know i was thinking about that the other day...i would also like to talk about soccrates, i think hes a cool dude...really cool guy. i love reading plato...can i get an a men? i think i am the only one in my class that loves to read plato, i mean i really love it. i'm getting repetitive here...that and i also like reading theoretical text, not too many people like doing that, i wonder why that is.

[Doreen Peri]

If enough reply that they want a special area for beat talk, we'll set it up, K&d.

This is your site. That's how we look at it. Whatever everybody wants is fine.

As far as talking about Plato, the "Great Ideas" forum was set up for talking philosophy. I took a really cool philosophy class in college. It was called "Philosophy of Religion." I enjoyed it very much.

I felt the type of commeraderie you speak of as associated with the beats when many of us posted to Litkicks. I called us the "Net Generation." I really felt that vibe of community and closeness, even through cyberspace and long distance tapping away on machines. I hope one day there will be as much of a sense of community here on S8. I miss that place. It had a heartbeat.. it was alive!

What really brings that feeling to the surface are also live events. The Cabaradio shows added to that. And other readings where we all got together. I think the net can be good for a feeling of community, but there's nothing like getting together in person.

I really dropped the ball on this one. We were planning another Cabaradio show for the summer but I just didn't have the time, energy or finances to pull it off. We're thinking of having a get-together.. maybe a series of get togethers... right here at our place... do a show outside on the deck... do some recording together.... stuff like that. There's also a big arts festival coming up next summer called the "Fringe Festival" in DC and we're talking about being a part of it.

That's one thing the beats had .... in person readings and events. It's a really important part of being a community.

[K&D]

couldn't agree more about the live evennts. i always love how in depth your responses are, they are very appreciated.

now that i'm older, i could go to such live events...you live in virginia which isn't really that far from N.C, i would like to have get togethers, thers a certain different kind of energy that comes from being there in person to bounce off of one another.

that fringe festival sounds really cool too.

i'll check the philosophy thing out too, did earlier, not much movement unfortunatly...but i'll definetly post there if anything Serious comes up.

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks, K&d - We'll keep you posted here when we decide to do something live again. It's a definite! We WILL definitely plan some more times to get together, share poetry, music, ideas, friendship. And it would be terrific if you could make it! Think about this.... bringing a camera... making a film out of it. A document of poetry, philosophy, arguments, dancing, music.... and general revelry of creativity.... We added an art show to our last Cabaradio and it was a great success! I have the performances and the art show interviews with the artists on DVD but unfortunately haven't yet figured out how to get clips up on the web for people to see.

If you want to talk philosophy, also, I forgot to mention e-dog's Studio called "The Anti-Academy." You might try that. And don't wait for it to get busy because if everybody waits, nothing will happen. Go ahead and post some philosophical ideas and see what transpires.

This is a relatively new community. It's only been online for a year. There have been busier times, for sure. It takes a while for a lot of activity on a board like this but we have regular daily activity and that's good.... and a great group of people! Summer's over now (pretty soon anyway) and probably the forums will pick up some more when people get too damn cold to stay outside.

Any ideas you have for the forums or for an in-person gathering are always welcome! Thanks for being here!

Oh... the Fringe Festival... I'll talk more about that later.. but it's an arts festival in a variety of cities throughout the world....

[judih]

There's a What about the Beats tribe over at tribes. Wireman's got them listed on his profile.
But from what i saw back when i looked, it was juss talk. No substance.

What about the beats? i say beat the drum now and walk the walk the 2005 way.

(and i would if i weren't so shell-shocked about the rest of what's happening in 2005)

good morning/evening.

another day, another cover-up (Israel), hunger strike (Palestinians), flood concern (Holland), evacuation (Keyes), and silent pre-dawn kibbutz morning.

[mtmynd]

"What about the Beats?" posted by Wireman. That didn't last too long and I wonder why? It takes time to reach all these posts and to properly respond (if there is such a thing as "proper response").

[Doreen Peri]

judih....
Goodmorning.
Goodevening.
I agree... we are now... NOW has a beat of its own... Thank you for mentioning the tribes beat place. I'm sure there are other beattalk places, too, just couldn't find them. I believe we bring substance wherever we go ...by the way...

Cecil -
Yeah, it takes some time. I don't know why posts disappear but that's one thing I love about this software... it allows people to change their minds and delete a topic or post if they want.

-----

Again, I'll add a forum for this if enough want it. For now, feel free to talk about the beats in the Lit forum or anywhere else, for that matter.

Beat dat drum, do it to it!

my footnote on the beats...
I've been a Ferlinghetti fan for many years... I also like Corso's poetry a lot... the others I'm not all that familiar with except Ann Sexton, who I adore and Sylvia Plath who I love and Ken Kesey. I'm sure you all know much more about that era of literature than i do. But I admit knowing little about most eras of literature. I just like to write poetry.

[K&D]

i think i'm the opposite, i like reading poetry and learning about all the writters and there life story but i'm not as big of a writter.

i use to write more poetry. i like stories of peoples life.

how come you and l-rod don't like log on so we can see your names at the bottom?

[Doreen Peri]

I log-on as invisible. There are others who do, too (not just me and LR). Why do I do that? Because oftentimes when this window is open, I'm not really here. It's just an open window on my computer and i don't want people to think I'm here when I'm not. Then, if they sent me a private message or something or asked me a question on a thread and I didn't reply right away, they'd think I was ignoring them. Mostly, I keep the site in an open window quite often, even when I may not be near the computer. I think LR has his settings set similarly for similar reasons but he'd have to answer.

Plus, it's my home page. So, every time I open a new browser window, people would think I was here and that's just not the case. I'm going somewhere else lots of times.

Whew! Long-winded answer... sorry... LOL!

Gotta go get Misty. I'll be back later.

[K&D]

yeah i have it as an open window a lot too even though i may not be looking at that screen at the momment, or i may be reading. the dorm is a small place you know.

[WIREMAN]

yes it was "I".....just changed my mind about topic......

[Doreen Peri]

No problem, Mark.

(we talked about it anyway... hope you don't mind )

Here's a poem I wrote with Clay.... a collaboration...

beat

beat is a suicide fertilizer bomber on the road to nowhere
ridin' the Ryder to surf on a mainline baptism ruptured
mud sculptures that last until the next rain. Secret stoic
compassion bestowed with indifference radical give a shit
tears stream for the suffering but are dried by the road. Beat
is bleaker than Bleeker Street.

beat is mud drug into treads of boot heels unable to feel
their way through rude unawakenings, trod down into
matted soiled hearts, the part of an epiphany never achieved,
mouths miming please please let me up, no ears to hear, beat
the drum to the paranoid aorta, each short rhythm, an echo
beneath stretched animal skin on top of an empty container;
faint stained burgundy blood spilled on burnt carpets beneath
pierced arms; beat holds the charm of standing completely
naked in the street in front of a head on collision
too many miles per hour faster than an airbag
could save. rant and holler if you want.
beat's got grave conclusions.

beat is destiny abandoned, ravished, captured, pinned
to the matte like a butterfly, wings still drubbing lanquid
as a crippled heart limping to nirvana on a cup of joe and a cigarette,
the bop solitude of a whiskey glass with no restrictions on your gut feelings
rampant tangents of the twisting road, the footprints to oblivion
and the butterfly wings beat soft like brushes on a death snare. The beat is
there; the beat is there.

beat is like being there, beat is like where you are when you're
so far away from everything you ever knew and closer to everything
and everybody who knew you before then and then the beat is
everywhere you ever wanted to be while songs of enrapture and snare
tantalize the bare minimum maximum stares, traveling the road,
traveling the road, footprints to twisted
butterfly wings,
sings and sounds
of caws from crows,
toes too long
for the shoe, blisters formed
where forlorn insteps tried to support
the walk, each matting down, a step toward
beating down the mud. beating down
the mud. beating
down
the
mud.

the beat is here.
the beat is
here.

[YABYUM]

I'll tell you what happened to the beats.......they all bought computers and forgot about the road. It seems to me that young kids today are more fixated on computers and video games than real life experience. I don't dare tell a man how to raise his children, but I am just sick over how many books are collecting dust in local libraries. I wonder how many college students can spell without spell check. What about actually going to a library and doing "manual" research in encyclopedias. Why travel across the country when the internet can show live feed? If Kerouac and Cassidy had the internet I would be interested to see if thier revolution ever would have been. All the people I work with are local high school and college kids and I am sickened by thier lack of literary knowledge. None of them know what the dewey decimal system was. They know the books they are required to read for class and thats it. Why open a book when there is so much porn and music and games on the internet? I'm in a bad mood. Can you tell? I have to go to work now. This may not be the beat generation, but I am surley beat and wandering through the haze of this generation that covers its eyes and hold its ears. Maybe this is the last generation.

[stilltrucking]

maybe that was the best use of a bad mood I have read here.

bravo

somehow I want to end every post to you
with

go fuk yourself