Beat Pt II

Michael McClure, Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg at City Light Books, 1966.

Counter-cultural movements excite me.

The Beat Generation assembled in the conservative society of 1950s post-WWII America. The underground movement called for spontaneity, free expression and an end to psychological repression. These ideas were alarming and presented a significant contrast to the current American society, the majority of which was searching for reassurance and restoration of order following the turbulent worldwide conflict.

Loss of an Icon

Doc Martens. The most badass boot in existence. Docs were first adopted by skinheads in the 1960s, creating an expression of rebellion that spread from East London, across Britain and to the entire world. To wear a pair of Doc Martens was to be an anti-fashion statement, to shock, to rebel against the norms of society. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Doc Martens were the symbols of diverse subcultural movements, including mods, glam, punks, ska, psychobillies, goths, industrialists, nu-metal, hardcore, straight-edge and grunge. In spite of the massive contrasts between each of these movements, they are united by their firm setting on the fringe of society, and their absence of desire to conform. In other words, they are THE counter-cultural icon.

For Our Own Good?

Attending one of the few schools in Auckland that allow their seventh form students to wear mufti instead of a school uniform has meant that I have eagerly awaited the allowance of this momentous freedom since the beginning of third form.

Book Snob

'Snob'. The very word turns my guts. I never, ever thought of it as a word that would be used to describe me.

Beat Pt I

L-R: Larry Rivers, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso (back of head), David Amram, Allen Ginsberg

I love Beats. This post will be the beginning of many as I learn about their epic coolness. Secretly I want to be one and plan on recruiting serious beatnik fans like me to change the world. Again.