EThe Beat Generation FAQE is an informative and entertaining look at the enigmatic authors and cutting-edge works that shaped this fascinating cultural and literary movement. Disillusioned with the repression and conformity encompassing post-World War II life in the United States the Beat writers sought creative alternatives to the mind-numbing banality of modern culture.THBeat Generation writers were no strangers to controversy: Both Allen Ginsberg's prophetic William Blakean-style poem Howl (1956) and William S. Burroughs' groundbreaking novel ENaked LunchE (1959) led to obscenity trials while Jack Kerouac's highly influential novel EOn the RoadE (1957) was blamed by the establishment for corrupting the nation's youth and continues to this day to serve as a beacon of hipster culture and the bohemian lifestyle.THThe Beat writers shared a vision for a new type of literature one that escaped the boundaries of academia and employed an organic use of language inspired by the spontaneity and improvisational nature of jazz music and abstract expressionism (Kerouac coined this writing style spontaneous prose ). In search of deeper meaning Beat Generation writers experimented not only with language but also with spirituality art drugs sexuality and unconventional lifestyles. Although the movement as a whole flamed out quickly in the early 1960s replaced by the onset of the hippie counterculture the Beats made an indelible mark on the nation's consciousness and left a long-lasting influence on its art and culture. This book details the movement a its works creative forces and its legacy.

(FAQ). It has been 40 years since the untimely death of L.A.'s mystic and rock's Dionysus, Jim Morrison, yet the Doors have consistently inspired new generations of fans worldwide ever since. Highlighting one of the most influential, original, and outrageous American bands of the 1960s, The Doors FAQ is a dynamic, unorthodox exploration of this remarkable band and its enigmatic lead singer. Drawing upon unique sources, Rich Weidman digs deep and serves up fresh perspective on the music, from the garage to the hits to the outtakes; and on the band's members, from their roots, influences, and key industry partners to their rare talents, personal foibles, love affairs, and arrests. This volume also details every studio album and live recording, all the highs and lows of the Doors in concert (including the notorious 1969 Miami concert), Morrison's 40-day trial, and the death of the "Lizard King" in Paris in 1971, as well as post-Morrison milestones. Unlike the straightforward narratives of other Doors biographies, this inventive, ceremonious biographical collage leaves no stone unturned, covering the band both with Morrison and post-Morrison, including the 2010 When You're Strange documentary and the recent pardon of Morrison by the State of Florida for the Miami concert. Countless rare images from album art to ticket stubs to posters accompany the text, in this dazzling edition of solid rock scholarship.