Beat Poetry Mixtapes Introduction

Although it is one of the most influential poetry movements of the mid 20th century, for many of us, Beat Poetry conjures a cliché: images of black berets, quiet jazz beats, dark smokey bars, and spoken word poems. However, underneath these clichés, the Beat Poetry movement was deeply concerned with issues of civil rights and social justice. They believed that if poetry could convey the immediacy of lived experience, then it could also change individual and social consciousness. My new course at Siena College, “Necessary Nonconformity: Beat Poetry and Social Justice,” will examine Beat poetry’s unique contributions to alternative social and literary models, along with its ongoing conversation between varieties of nonconformity and social justice. Our exploration will be guided by questions such as these: How can poetry change consciousness? Is anarchy a viable political position? How can poetic form enact cultural critique? Our readings of these films and texts will be informed by interviews with Allen Ginsberg, Diane DiPrima, Amiri Baraka, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Bob Kaufman and new essays from Reconstructing the Beats and The Beats: A Teaching Companion.