The Daybreak Boys: Essays On The Literature Of The Beat Generation

Gregory Stephenson Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation The Daybreak Boys The Daybreak Boys Essays on the Literature o/the Beat Generation by Gregory Stephenson Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale Copyright © 1990 by the Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University Paperback edition 2009 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 12 11 10 09 4 3 2 1 The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Stephenson, Gregory, 1947– The daybreak boys : essays on the literature of the beat generation / by Gregory Stephenson. p. cm. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. American literature—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Beat generation. I. Title. PS228.B6874 1990 810' .9' 0054—dc19 ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-1564-2 (cloth) 88-27095 ISBN-10: 0-8093-1564-5 (cloth) CIP ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-2949-6 (paperback : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8093-2949-2 (paperback : alk. paper) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences –Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. ∞ For my mother and my father and for Birgit Contents ix Acknowledg11zents 1 Introduction 2 Circular Journey: Jack Kerouac's Dult,oz Legend 17 Allen Ginsbergs "Howl": A Reading 50 The Gnostic Vision of William S. Burroughs 59 "The Arcadian Map": Notes on the Poetry of Gregory Corso 74 Homeward from Nowhere: Notes on the Novels of John Clellon Holmes 90 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 From the Substrate: Notes on the Work of Michael McClure 105 Toward Organized Innocence: Richard Fariiia's Been Dowrt So Long It Looks Like Up to Me 131 The "Spiritual Optics" of Lawrence Ferlinghetti 139 vii Daybreak Boys 10 11 Friendly and Flowing Savage: The Literary Legend of Neal Cassady 154 Conclusion 172 Notes 189 Selected Bibliography 201 Index 209 viii Acknowledgments I wottld like to express my gratitude to the following editors in whose publications certain of these essays fifst appeared: Jim Burns of Pa/antir, V. J. Eaton of The Literal'y Denim, Rudi Horemans of Restant, Dave Moore of Tbe Kwouac Connection, John O'Brien of The Review ofCrmtempofary Fiction, Jeffery H. Weinberg of Writ81'S otftside the Margir/, and Joy Walsh of Textile Bridge Press. In addition, gfatefill acknowledgment is made to the folllJ1.ving: Palantit" for permission to reprint '''How!': A Reading," 23 (1983): 11-18. The Literm'y Denim: A Journal of Beat Literature for permission to reprint "'Howl': A Reading," 2 (1985):105-11. Modern Amefican Literature for permission to reprint "Infinite Resignation: Jack Kerouac's Tristessa," a portion of "Circular Journey: Jack Kerouac's Dtt!OlJZ Legend," 7 (Winter 1983):16~17. Restant: Review for S81niotic Theofies and tbe Analysis of Texts for permission to reprint "The 'Spiritual Optics' of Lawrence FerHnghetti," 13 (1985):117-29, and "Toward Organized Innocence: Richard Farina's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, 15 (1987): 123~30. The KefOltaC Connection for permission to reprint "Homeward from Nowhere: Notes on the Novels of John Clellon Holmes," 15 (1988):20-27. tX Daybreak Boys The Review of Contemporary Fiction for permission to reprint "The Gnostic Vision of William S. Burroughs," 4 (Spring 1984):40-49. Writers olttJide the Margin: An Anthology, in which '''The Arcadian Map': Notes on the Poetry of Gregory Corso" first appeared (Sudbury, Mass.: Water R