[lit-ideas] Re: Bum literature
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 16:40:16 -0500
Of course in poetry the field is much richer. Almost all of the beat poetry
of the 50's and 60's is a kind of spiritual exaltation of bummery as well as
the whole hippie thing through the middle 60's and 70's. Most often those
apostles of poverty were upper/middle class Ivy-league converts, and often
only temporary devotees, but devotees nonetheless. Santayana (?) says that
the impulse to return to nature is a disease of civilzation. An aphorism I
can appreciate -- there is no simpler age I'd like to return to, at the same
time the America dream screams nightmare to me. But maybe I'm just spoiled
by lack of toil.
Mike Geary
Middleboro, MA
or thereabouts
give or take
half a continent
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bum literature
> Yes, Carol, I've been trying to think of the name of that novel all day.
>
> Mike Geay
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "carol kirschenbaum" <cskir@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 3:56 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bum literature
>
>
> > And from William Kennedy, _Ironweed_ .
> > >ck
> >
> > ***********************
> >
> >
> >
> > > andy amago wrote:
> > >
> > > > I was driving along the other day listening to oldies. The song was
> > > > King of the Road by Roger Miller about the drifter. While neither
> > > > demonizing nor glorifying the difter, the song nevertheless ascribed
> > > > no redeeming qualities to him at all. In the many "traveling songs"
> > > > or road literature such Kerouac (sp?) one gets the sense that these
> > > > are young, ultimately upwardly mobile people going through a phase
or
> > > > searching for the perfect wave, etc.. Likewise in Don Quixote the
> > > > protagonist is on a mission. Roger Miller, however, is singing
> > > > about an out and out bum. I wondered at that point about other bum
> > > > literature. Not the Joe Hill-type high minded working class but
> > > > unredeemed bums. The only character I can think of is the Ratzo
> > > > Rizzo character from Midnight Cowboy. Possibly Huckleberry Finn and
> > > > Jim, who drift fairly aimlessly. Is there, in fact, a literature
> > > > around the dregs of society? Trainspotting perhaps (the movie)?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Andy
> > > >
> > > >
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