"All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. ... But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not." -Nick Hornby
AUTHOR: Harvey Pekar, Nancy J. Peters, Penelope Rosemont, Joyce Brabner, Trina Robbins, and Tuli Kupferberg
ARTISTS: Ed Piskor, Jay Kinney, Nick Thorkelson, Summer McClinton, Peter Kuper, Mary Fleener, Jerome Neukirch, Anne Timmons, Gary Dumm, Lance Tooks, and Jeffry Lewis
DATE: January 2011
NOTES:
I used to think that I admired the men of the beat generation. The reason that I thought this was because I did not know much about them. After reading this beautifully illustrated history I have changed my view on the subject. At best I acknowledge their moments of genius and pitty their turmultous personal lives. And at worst I am a little bit disgusted by their leud behaviour, sexism, and overall feelings of entitlement at everyone elses expense.
One of the things that I really love about Harvey Pekar's writing is that he cares about the story behind art. What I mean is that he loves to chronical the people behind great works rather than just focussing on the works themselves which can create an idealised view of the artist's (I have come to realize that most artists are not as brilliant or inspiring as their greatest works of art at all times). "The Beats" is a disturbing read because of the startling honesty with which the beatniks are portrayed. I don't think that the reader is meant to be disgusted. In fact I think that the book is targeting an audience that would revel in the sexual freedom of the beats, the experimentation with drugs, the rebellion against steady jobs, and moral 'rules'. I am not this target audience. I couldnt help but think of all the people that were left dying in the wake of these "visionary's" (sometimes literally).
Although I was mostly distrurbed there were a few people in the book that I will definantly look into as potential future reading. I was really interested in the story of Kenneth Patchen who wrote "picture poems". He seemed to have some really interesting things to say as in: "Every man's at war who's hungry and hunted whether in Omaha or Tokyo". His art is also very interesting. here is an example of one of his picture poems:
I also appreaciated Joyce Brabners (Harvey Pekars widow) candidness in her contribution entitled "Beatnik Chicks" which appears near the end of the novel. One frame in particular hit me like a breath of fresh air after an entire book of idolizing a group of brash ridiculous men. The frame artfully display's two cars driving back and forth, a hand rolling a joint and a womans back who is obviously in a sexual embrace. the text reads as follows:
"At the same time I found Kerouac and his cronies loathsome. Drive across the country. Drive back.roll joints, roll around with women"
Joyce did not say it; but I would have added the line: "or roll around with one another".
Along with Joyce Brabners contribution and the picture poems I also aquired a healthy love for "the fugs". For those of you who have been living in darkness like me, "The Fugs" are a band of "folk musicians" that appear to stand for non-comformity. They took the idea's that Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs applied to poetry and novels and applied them to music. Simply put they wrote a bunch of "stream of conciousness" songs that ended up being really interesting and funny and sometimes thought provoking. They also embraced much of the attitudes that bother me about the beats in regards to sexism, drugs, morality etc etc. which sometimes produces songs that seem to be written with the purpose of shocking all but those who are "beat" enough to be hip to that sort of thing.
NOTES: My good friend Wayne gifted me this book for Christmas. It has been my experience that Wayne has excellent taste so I began reading the book as soon as I received it.
The book is presented from the perspective of a reporter who interviews people that lived through WWZ which was a global Zombie War. The Zombie plague originated in China somewhere in the mid to late 1990`s. The book is extremely compelling because it uses actual history and the goings on of the day as a backdrop for the Zombie War. In other words, the world Brooks writes about is in many ways similar to the world we inhabit. I know that Brooks has been criticized for hitting to close to home in some cases, (particularly in the ways he depicts the United States and Israel) but I really think his use of realistic portrayals of the activities of the nations prior to WWZ make for an erie and believable read.
Constructing the book as a series of interviews allows Brooks to speak from a number of perspectives spanning class, profession, nationality, age and religion. Brooks uses these various prospectives to write a story with amazing depth. By the end of the novel the reader feels as though the crisis actually happened because of the amount of detail that is included. I should warn prospective readers that the detail can sometimes be a deterrent as well, especially if you are prone to nightmares or cursed with a weak stomach.
The use of voices from all different areas allows Brooks to discuss a number of controversial and important issues as well. He talks about religion from several prospectives including, the issue of souls, eastern religions, evil and good and religion as an opiate for the masses.
He spends a lot of time criticising governmental response to the plague. During these discourses he points to bureaucracy risking lives, slow response times, classism, and the government ignoring evidence of an impending crisis (global warming).
Brooks deals with individuals as well. Several of his characters criticise citizens for not knowing how to fend for themselves without technology and for lacking basic survival skills (like making a fire, packing proper clothing, picking proper provisions etc.). One really memorable scene has an interviewing pointing out people and personal items frozen in the ice. The people in the ice had brought video game systems and wildly insufficient Disney princess sleeping bags with them when fleeing to the arctic.
Overall I loved the book. It was very entertaining and it allowed me to think about some important issues. It also served to round out my knowledge of Zombie lore. I learned that the military refers to zombies as either ``Zack's`` or ``G`s`` which is a short form for ghouls. I also learned that older weapons proved more effective and cost conscious in killing zombies than large scale attacks. Zombies don`t breath so they can live under water. Quislings are people who go mad and act as though they are zombies (which causes the government to believe that zombies eat other zombies for a time). There is a zombie martial art that is effective in hand to hand zombie confrontation. I learned all of these truths and a lot more. I am very much looking forward to seeing the film.
This book was a gift from my in laws. My father in law is probably the most experienced woodsman I know. He is the only man that has ever taken me up on a mountain (which he says is the only way to really get to know a man). He can build with anything, he collects old wood, fossils, rocks, and he knows a lot about what it takes to survive in the woods. All that to say that this book reminded me a lot of him.
Most people are familiar with the basic story line of this young adult novel. Robinson Crusoe is a sailor. His ship hits rough seas and gets hung up on rocks near a small island. He is the lone survivor and the book follows his adventures as he makes a home on his deserted island. The ``Making`` portion of the book is the most exciting for the young boy that lives inside of me. Crusoe constructs an entire homestead using material he gathers from the ship (via a raft he builds himself while at sea AWESOME!). He makes friends with animals on the island, constructs tools and cooking devices, he hunts and fishes and makes his own clothing and smokes a pipe. He even defends his land against a tribe of ``cannibal savages`` at one point.
The book is simply written and I could probably go into a long discussion of how it promotes a type of rugged individualism that has been at the center of our culture of privacy and self sufficiency. I am not going to do that though.
All in all the book was short and fun. I read it over the course of two evenings and it reminded me of simpler times when I would sit of the linoleum floor of my parents basement with a pile of GIJOE`S and a box of Lego and imagine myself into worlds and situations that required sharp wits and a creative use of materials to get those ``all American heroes`` through.
Also, Sarah and I are pregnant so it got me excited to share the joys of imagination with my soon to be born child.
I also appreaciated Joyce Brabners (Harvey Pekars widow) candidness in her contribution entitled "Beatnik Chicks" which appears near the end of the novel. One frame in particular hit me like a breath of fresh air after an entire book of idolizing a group of brash ridiculous men. The frame artfully display's two cars driving back and forth, a hand rolling a joint and a womans back who is obviously in a sexual embrace. the text reads as follows:
