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DENVER'S BEAT POETRY DRIVING TOUR
FOOTNOTES
About the Author
Beat historian Andrew Burnett enjoys the parallels between Neal Cassady's life and
his: Both grew up in Denver, lived in Curtis Park, read voraciously in the downtown
branch of the DPL, worked to stay out of trouble and had memorable barber fathers.
His online photo-essay, Neal's Denver, debuted in 1995 and was praised in the
New Yorker as "...an honest accounting of Cassady's contributions...all with a
refreshing lack of hagiography." He lives in Washington, D.C.
Additonal Resources
For books, tapes, CDs, of works by and about the Beat Poets and the Beatnik
generation, and for other research materials about 1950s Denver, visit any
Denver Public Library location.
Significant Beat Era Works
The Town and the City
Jack Kerouac. 1950
Denver Public Library (DPL) call number: FIC KEROUAC J
Description: The king of the Beats' debut autobiographical novel.
Howl
Allen Ginsberg. 1956
DPL: 811 G435zgiant
Description: The pinnacle poem of the Beat Generation writers, considered
obscene by some and of redeeming social importance by others.
On The Road
Jack Kerouac. 1957
DPL: FIC KEROUAC J
Description: Called the "Huckleberry Finn of the 20th century" with Sal
Paradise and Dean Moriarty roaring across America and redefining freedom.
A Coney Island of the Mind
Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 1958
DPL: 811 F384co
Description: A roller coaster ride of poems from one of the giants of the
Beat Writers.
The Dharma Bums
Jack Kerouac. 1958
DPL: FIC KEROUAC J
Description: A West Coast Zen adventure in search of "Truth" that includes
marathon wine-drinking bouts and poetry jam sessions.
The Subterraneans
Jack Kerouac. 1958
DPL: FIC KEROUAC J
Description: A bi-racial romance between a passionate couple -- Leo a writer, and
Mardou an African American girl 10 years his junior.
Naked Lunch
William S. Burroughs. 1959
DPL: FIC BURROUGH W
Description: "Nightmarish tale of a monumental descent into the hellish world
of heroin addiction."
Big Sur
Jack Kerouac. 1962
DPL: FIC KEROUAC J
Description: "A humane, precise account of the extraordinary ravages of alcohol
delirium tremens on Kerouac," as described by poet Allen Ginsberg.
The Portable Beat Reader
Ann Charters. 1992
DPL: 810.9 P83
Description: A collection of poems, fiction, essays, song lyrics, and memoirs
from the knights of the round table of the Beat Generation writers.
Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, 1940-1956
Ann Charters. 1995
DPL: 813 K459se
Description: Kerouac’s Beat life story through candid correspondence with friends.
Portable Jack Kerouac
Ann Charters. 1995
DPL: 818 K459po
Description: Selections of Kerouac’s work that include many excerpts from
his "true-story novels."
Web Links
Intrepidtrips.com
Lit Kicks
Route 66: Crusing the American Dream
The Allen Ginsberg Trust
Photographs
Photo of Neal Cassady driving, courtesy of
Intrepidtrrips.com.
Photo of Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac, courtesy of Carolyn Cassady.
Photo of Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of the Allen Ginsberg Trust.
Photo of the Rossonian Hotel, courtesy of the
Denver Downtown Partnership, Inc.
Additional photos courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western Collection and Denver 8.
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