Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation - Softcover

Tonkinson, Carole

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573225010 ISBN 13: 9781573225014

Publisher: Riverhead Books,U.S., 1995

Synopsis

Essays, poems, photographs, and letters explore the link between Buddhism and the Beats--with previously unpublished material from several beat writers, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Diane diPrima.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

When Allen Ginsberg asked, 'Were the Beats first and foremost artists, or first and foremost spiritual seekers?' he saw the trap and refused to enter. the two, he answered, are inseparable. The Beats were the most influential literary movement of their time, but they were united and defined as much by their shared spiritual quest for a new consciousness as by their literary style or political stance. Buddhism was the main influence, and their writings helped to make Buddhism a fundamental aspect of the counter-culture. They not only read the sacred texts voraciously but meditated, found teachers, travelled to Japan and India – and wrote. This volume shows what a profound and exciting influence Buddhism was on their work through a selection of both well-known and lesser-known writings, including pieces by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Joanne Kyger, and William Burroughs.

"Between the beauty and deep charm of its excerpts, and the intelligence of its commentary, 'Big Sky Mind' reads like a 'Golden Treasury'."
MICHAEL HERR, author of 'Despatches', screenwriter for Francis Ford Coppola's 'On The Road'

"There have been many anthologies of Beat writings, but this is a unique (and expertly edited) one that deserves a place in your rucksack."
REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY FICTION

"Their intrinsic spirituality in general and Buddhist practice in particular have never before been as carefully explicated. The commentary is clarifying and invigorating and the literary selections of both east and west coast Beats and kindred spirits such as Kenneth Rexroth and Anne Waldman are superb."
DONNA SEAMAN

About the Author:

Carole Tomkinson is the author of Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation.

About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Books,U.S.
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1573225010
• ISBN 13: 9781573225014
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416