Research Catalog
Gang of souls
- Title
- Gang of souls [videorecording] / produced by Maria Beatty.
- Publication
- New York : American Federation of Arts, 1989.
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Offsite to submit a request in person. | Moving image | By appointment only | VTH 1800 G | Offsite |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- 1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col.; 1/2 in.
- Summary
- The "Beat" movement began in the 1950's with Jack Kerouac coining the term which means either beatific or "I'm beat, I'm exhausted, I've had it." Rebelling against the strictures of middle-class America, the beats sought out alternatives by exploring other cultures, religions and philosophies and by experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs as a way of expanding consciousness. This tape is a collage of reflections by Beat era veterans, surviving members of the core group named "the gang of souls" by Allen Ginsberg, and younger devotees who discuss the Beat movement's modernist reverberations. The artists discuss methodologies, influences, the interrelationship of music and poetry and the spiritual/religious aspects of their craft. Reminiscences are complemented by recitations of their work. 1) William Burroughs, author of Junky, Naked lunch, The Exterminator, Queer, The Western lands, and Soft machine was a founder of the Beat Movement and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres of France. 2)Gregory Corso, "...a tough young kid from the Lower East Side who rose like an angel over the rooftops and sang Italian songs as sweet as Caruso and Sinatra, but in words." 3) Diane di Prima, recognized as the most important woman poet and writer of the Beat Movement and co-founder of the New York Poets Press. 4)Allen Ginsberg, son of lyric poet and teacher Louis Ginsberg, was a student at Columbia College in the 1940's when he began a close friendship with Burroughs, Kerouac and Neal Cassidy. 5) Ed Sanders, poet, journalist, environmental activist, "inventor" and musician, operated The Peace Eye Bookstore in the 1960's and founded The Fugs, a visionary poetry-rock group. 6)John Giorno, considered foremost performing poet today, founded Giorno Poetry Systems in 1965, an audio/visual company which has produced work by avant-gardists Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Jim Carroll, Laurie Anderson and Anne Waldman. 7) Poet Anne Waldman was editor of The World magazine in the 60's and 70's and is currently director of the Saint Mark's Poetry Project in New York. She is the founder of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. 8) Jim Carroll, author of The Basketball diaries, an account of a boyhood spent on New York's mean streets, began a career in the 1980's as a rock performer and songwriter and has released three albums, including Catholic boy. 9) Marianne Faithfull, an interpretive vocalist who recorded albums from folk to jazz, has collaborated with Tom Waits and The Rolling Stones and teaches lyric writing at the Naropa Institute. 10) Henry Rollins is a writer/vocalist for Black Flag and The Rollins Band. He publishes his own poetry. 11) Lydia Lunch has had an eclectic career in music, film, literature and spoken word performance. Her musical collaborations include work with Sonic Youth, Clint Ruin (aka Foetus) and The Birthday Party.
- Subjects
- Credits (note)
- Producer, director, Maria Beatty; editor Christopher Martinez; music, Bruce O. Bernardo.
- Title
- Gang of souls [videorecording] / produced by Maria Beatty.
- Imprint
- New York : American Federation of Arts, 1989.
- Credits
- Producer, director, Maria Beatty; editor Christopher Martinez; music, Bruce O. Bernardo.
- Performer
- Participants: William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Diane di Prima, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, John Giorno, Anne Waldman, Jim Carroll, Marianne Faithfull, Richard Hell, Henry Rollins, Lydia Lunch.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
- Beatty, Maria.Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997.Corso, Gregory.Di Prima, Diane.Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997.Sanders, Ed.Giorno, John.Waldman, Anne, 1945-Carroll, Jim.Faithfull, Marianne.Rollins, Henry, 1961-Lunch, Lydia.Kerouac, Jack, 1922-1969.
- Branch Call Number
- VTH 1800 G