Bibliographic information:
Buhle, Paul Ed. The Beats: A Graphic History. New York: Hill and Wang a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2009. ISBN 13: 978-0-8090-9496-7
Plot Summary:
This is a graphic history and follows the biographies of some of the greatest Beat writers and poets. A large part of the book is given to the stories of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William H. Burroughs, the three central characters in the Beat writing movement. The stories of the lesser-known poets and writers are told and an emphasis is made on the fact that many of these were part of the San Francisco Beat scene. One interesting chapter had to do with women writers on the Beat scene, a topic which is sometimes overlooked as the focus has often been on male writers of the era. The progression of the book shows the Beat generation as it started, and developed, and ends as the generation influenced and gave way to the Hippie movement of the late 1960’s.
Critical Evaluation:
The book was compiled from the works of many different writers/artistic styles and thus has little in the way of consistency. The history seems to be fairly solid and is delivered in an easily understood way, it has appeal for fans of comics and manga alike, as well as those who may need to find out information on the Beats and prefer to do so through a graphic format. The attempt at bringing together so many different characters represented by so many different writers and artists must have been challenging, but the editors are able to put this into a fairly cohesive compilation. Passages of original Beat works are incorporated and this helps to add flavor to illustrations and the historical commentary. Neal Cassidy was mentioned in only a few places, yet he was a central figure in the movement, which seemed rather odd to me.
Reader’s Annotation:
A short history of some of the greatest artists, poets, and writers of the Beat generation delivered in a non traditional format. The graphic history explores the subject through pictures and historical commentary.
Information about the author:
There are seventeen writers and artists who collaborated on this project and bring many different backgrounds and artistic styles to the work. The text was written by Harvey Pekar, Penelope Rosemont, Joyce Brabner, Trina Robbins, and Tuli Kupferberg. Most of the people who worked on the text of this project are involved with the graphic works industry. The exception to this is Nancy J. Peters who is an author/publisher/ bookstore owner in San Francisco. Paul Buhle, the editor of the work, is a senior lecturer at Brown University and the founding editor of the journal Radical America.
The art team for the graphic part of this history was made up of the following artists: Ed Piskor, Jay Kinney, Nick Thorkelson, Summer McClinton, Peter Kuper, Mary Fleener, Jerome Neukirch, Anne Timmons, Gary Dumm, Lance Tooks, and Jeffery Lewis. The art team are all involved with the comic book and graphic art industries.
Genre:
Graphic History
Curriculum Ties:
English/History
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Discuss how literature can be taught using graphic works.
2. Focus on the influence the Beat writers and poets had on following generations.
3. Talk about the Beat generation as a counter-culture.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
16+
Challenge Issues:
Drinking/Drugs/Adult Situations/Homosexuality/Violence
Challenge Defense Ideas:
1. Read the book.
2. Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.
3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA.
4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the work, as well as other works by the same writer.
5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.
Why did you include this book? :
Some older teens become interested in the works of the Beat writers and this worked seemed like a novel way of giving a history lesson of that movement.
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