thepoets

They were of a time and many continue to resonate today with offerings of poetry that show their progression as true word artists. They were and still are in many ways the Beat Poets. I recently explored a book from my shelf that highlighted many women poets from the Beat era. The book I’m referring to is Women of the Beat Generation published by MJF Books. This book is full of gems and while it does not only deal with poets it is they who I feel were at the forefront of innovative and daring thought during this time of artistic and social upheaval in North America.

There is the poet Mary Fabilli and her poem Advent:

Snow falling on Christmas trees
deep in the forests of Arizona,…

…the child that is born to us-
sing songs of him in all the mesas
after two thousand years

There’s Diane di Prima and My Lover’s Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun:

Where
are we, really, climbing
the sides of buildings to peer in
like spiderman, at windows
not our own

There’s Hettie Jones and her witty observations in Untitled (Teddy Bears On The Highway):

I have always been at the same time
woman enough to be moved to tears
and man enough
to drive my car in any direction

How about the focused energy of Janine Pommy Vega in The Drum Song:

Red and white
the woman in her childbearing
years, and then herself, soft haired
watching the fire, taking to her
the grandchildren who want her stories
red and white, the passionate
female, the passionate male

The Beat Poets had energy and a desire to expand the boundaries of poetry so that it could continue to be fresh to readers. They used free verse to free their minds to explore and understand what was happening in society around them. While all their efforts were by no means great art, many were just that.

Poetry, whether formal or free from any constraints, accomplishes its goals when it causes us to think hard about our own lives ad the lives of those around us. The Beat Poets helped their readers do that in an exciting and vibrant way. Their work continues to inspire poets today.

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