The Transnational Beat Generation

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The Beat Generation writers and artists are typically identified as an American movement. Yet travel, Buddhism, drug experimentation, and European surrealism and romanticism were an integral part of the ethos behind the movement. This collection of essays will map writers such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti globally and explore parallel movements and writers in other countries. Incorporating contemporary theories of globalization and transnationalism, this insightful book provides a more nuanced understanding of both the Beats and America.This volume will look at: • Beat critiques of postwar capitalism • Beat resistance to oppressive political regimes• Beat reaction to sweeping cultural changesThe essays are written in a lively and accessible manner and the collection will serve as an introduction to Beat Studies because of its comprehensive nature. It will be a natural adoption for courses on the beats - a substantial subset of 20th-century literature courses - and will fit into 20th-century literature surveys, and courses on transnational literature, as well.

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Nancy M. Grace is the Virginia Myers Professor of English at The College of Wooster and chair of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. Jennie Skerl was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at West Chester University and is a founding board member and past president of the Beat Studies Association.