Take the BEAT TOUR Beat sites located in Denver, CO. BeatTour.com     DENVER'S BEAT POETRY DRIVING TOUR FOOTNOTES About the Author Beat historian Andrew Burnett enjoys the parallels between Neal Cassady's life and his: Both grew up in Denver, lived in Curtis Park, read voraciously in the downtown branch of the DPL, worked to stay out of trouble and had memorable barber fathers. His online photo-essay, Neal's Denver, debuted in 1995 and was praised in the New Yorker as "...an honest accounting of Cassady's contributions...all with a refreshing lack of hagiography." He lives in Washington, D.C. Additonal Resources For books, tapes, CDs, of works by and about the Beat Poets and the Beatnik generation, and for other research materials about 1950s Denver, visit any Denver Public Library location. Significant Beat Era Works The Town and the City Jack Kerouac. 1950 Denver Public Library (DPL) call number: FIC KEROUAC J Description: The king of the Beats' debut autobiographical novel. Howl Allen Ginsberg. 1956 DPL: 811 G435zgiant Description: The pinnacle poem of the Beat Generation writers, considered obscene by some and of redeeming social importance by others. On The Road Jack Kerouac. 1957 DPL: FIC KEROUAC J Description: Called the "Huckleberry Finn of the 20th century" with Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty roaring across America and redefining freedom. A Coney Island of the Mind Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 1958 DPL: 811 F384co Description: A roller coaster ride of poems from one of the giants of the Beat Writers. The Dharma Bums Jack Kerouac. 1958 DPL: FIC KEROUAC J Description: A West Coast Zen adventure in search of "Truth" that includes marathon wine-drinking bouts and poetry jam sessions. The Subterraneans Jack Kerouac. 1958 DPL: FIC KEROUAC J Description: A bi-racial romance between a passionate couple -- Leo a writer, and Mardou an African American girl 10 years his junior. Naked Lunch William S. Burroughs. 1959 DPL: FIC BURROUGH W Description: "Nightmarish tale of a monumental descent into the hellish world of heroin addiction." Big Sur Jack Kerouac. 1962 DPL: FIC KEROUAC J Description: "A humane, precise account of the extraordinary ravages of alcohol delirium tremens on Kerouac," as described by poet Allen Ginsberg. The Portable Beat Reader Ann Charters. 1992 DPL: 810.9 P83 Description: A collection of poems, fiction, essays, song lyrics, and memoirs from the knights of the round table of the Beat Generation writers. Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, 1940-1956 Ann Charters. 1995 DPL: 813 K459se Description: Kerouac’s Beat life story through candid correspondence with friends. Portable Jack Kerouac Ann Charters. 1995 DPL: 818 K459po Description: Selections of Kerouac’s work that include many excerpts from his "true-story novels." Web Links Intrepidtrips.com Lit Kicks Route 66: Crusing the American Dream The Allen Ginsberg Trust Photographs Photo of Neal Cassady driving, courtesy of Intrepidtrrips.com. Photo of Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac, courtesy of Carolyn Cassady. Photo of Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of the Allen Ginsberg Trust. Photo of the Rossonian Hotel, courtesy of the Denver Downtown Partnership, Inc. Additional photos courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western Collection and Denver 8. < PREVIOUS PAGE BACK TO BEGINNING >