Patti and Jack

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