January 26
Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums does [did] not age well. I understand the appeal it had in the 50s and
60s but today it is nothing more than a mediocre artifact of a generation in
search of itself, “self” being the operative word. In the heyday of psychological exploration
many turned to Eastern philosophy rapidly growing in popularity in the fringes
of society. The Beats embraced it halfheartedly mostly because of its exploitation of “nothingness.” Kerouac comes off as nothing more than
condescending albeit in a self-deprecating “it was easy even for me.” Filled with nonsensical “poetry”, passion and
platitudes it is however an interesting snapshot of the lives of so many of the
luminaries of the day. Although
disguised [originally a request of his editors], the characters are very
familiar and with a little research one can identify all of them. Much of this novel takes place in Marin
County, San Francisco and L.A. The “Left
Coast” owes so much of its reputation to The Beats that even reading 50s and
60s accounts, it seems little changed.
Augmenting my retro reading I have explored a couple of new
pieces by Patti Smith. The Year of The
Monkey [a memoir of sorts] and a performance, “Live at Minetta Lane” are vibrant
offspring of The Beats. Fans will delight in the inclusion of several of her
“hits” on the performance piece but they both scrape at scars of lost loves
[Sam Shepard, Robert Mapplethorpe and Fred “Sonic” Smith], living rough, and
endless searching.
Patti Smith has held onto her power better than most of her
predecessors and with friends like Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, and the late Lou
Reed she is now an icon of progressive politics, human rights and the
performing arts. “People Have the Power”
has become a new national anthem and she is more loved and appreciated now than
she has been over her 70 odd years
