He was often referred to as the quiet beat, and was one of kerouacs closest friends. Argumentum varias suorum iacobi kerouac, neal cassady, et allen ginsberg res depingit. John clellon holmes holyoke, massachusetts, march 12, 1926 march 30, 1988 was an american author, poet and professor, best known for his 1952 novel go. The years immediately following world war ii saw america emerge as a prosperous world power, but the beats, whose name was derived from beatitude or beatific, felt that something was missing. Edgar pool is the horn, the hero, and the man who helps change the face of american music. Photographically duplicated uncorrected page proofs of the first edition of this posthumously published collection. He died on march 2, 1988 in old saybrook, connecticut, usa.
According to the author, he took the title with kind. A full biography of john clellon holmes, by ann and sam charters, was published in november 2010. Considered the first beat novel, go depicted events in his life with his friends jack. Go is a semiautobiographical novel by john clellon holmes. Below is an interview recollection of john clellon holmes from jacks book an oral biography of jack kerouac by barry gifford and lawrence lee. Those three make the main protagonists and at the same time the nucleus of the future beats movement. John clellon holmes, a writer and a poet who was regarded as a spokesman for the beat generation, died of cancer yesterday at middlesex memorial hospital in. This is the beat generation a 26yearold defines his times. John clellon holmes recordings special collections and. Holmes was in the thick of this scene with kerouac, ginsberg et al, and gets the madness of bebop ww2 and the beats as well as any writer of fiction. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the horn.
The horn by john clellon holmes, 9780285638648, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. John clellon holmes was a close friend of jack kerouac and the writers of the beat generation. Several months ago, a national magazine ran a story under the heading youth. John clellon holmes died of cancer at age 62 in middleton, connecticut, on march 30, 1988. John clellon holmes met jack kerouac on a hot new york city weekend in, and until the end of kerouacs life they werein holmes s wordsbro. First hardcover edition of a compilation of john clellon holmes poetry spanning his career from the 1940s through the 1980s, published the year after his death. The novel that launched the beat generations literary legacy describes the world of jack kerouac, allen ginsberg, and neil cassady. Project muse an annotated bibliography of jazz fiction. John clellon holmes, a writer and a poet who was regarded as a. I didnt read it right away because i guess i thought is was just lesser kerouac rather than a novel that provided a totally new viewpoint of the beat generation immortals. We recently passed a watershed moment in modern american literature, as november, 2012, marked sixty years since john clellon holmes introduced the term beat generation in the new york times magazine. Buy a cheap copy of go book by john clellon holmes. Ioannes clellon holmes natus ioannes clellon holmes, holyoke massachusettae 12 martii 1926middletown connecticutae 30 martii 1988 fuit auctor, poeta, et professor americanus, qui mythistoria go 1952, prima mythistoria prostrata, innotuit. John clellon holmes, 62, novelist and poet of the beat.
The years immediately following world war ii saw america emerge as a prosperous world power, but the beats, whose name was derived from beatitude or beatific, felt that something was. His seminal beat novel go, also published sixty years ago five years. I have read holmes two most wellknown novels, but was unaware that he was a poet as well. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. His novel go was not so ambitious as a work of art as jack kerouacs on the road, let alone the subterraneans. Go is considered the first beat novel, and depicted events in his life with friends jack kerouac, neal cassady and allen ginsberg. John clellon holmes john clellon holmes biography poem. From go scribner 1952 this goes on through the twilight world of dark faces, of hot music and cool jazz, of the dedication which is ultimately a destruction. In addition to his novel go, he wrote the horn in 1958, get. Drafted two months before jack kerouac began on the road, go is the first and most accurate chronicle of the private lives lived by the beats before they became public figures.
John clellon holmes reflects on the history of jazz in this classic novel. Their flushed, often scoffing, always intent faces elude the word, and it would sound phony to them. Beat generation authors and poets, including jack kerouac. And i had no idea what he did with his life beyond the 1950s. John clellon holmes the horn 1958 john clellon holmes is famous as the inventor of the beat generation. John clellon holmes first met jack kerouac and allen ginsberg at a 4th of july party in 1948 in new york. John clellon holmes this is the beat generation august 30, 2008 at 4. In honest, lucid fictional prose designed to capture the events. John clellon holmes, a sometimemember of the crowd of friends that would become famous as the beat generation, wrote the first published works to herald their significance. For this generation conspicuously lacks that eloquent air of bereavement which made so many of the exploits of the lost.
John clellon holmes the horn 1958 june 30, 2009 at 12. John clellon holmes, jack kerouac, and the beat generation. John clellon holmes was an american author, poet and professor, best known for his 1952. An annotated bibliography of jazz fiction and jazz fiction criticism, comp. His first novel, go, introduced the world to the beats. Years before the beats became the beat generation, john clellon holmes charted in go their manic exploration of the unconscious, their quest for significance. Previously, johns sister elizabeth had published a memoir of life with her brother and his friends in new york city between 19471954, of which the beat scene press edition is an extract. Two things donald trump has definitely always loved. Less controversial and experimental than jack kerouac or allen ginsberg, holmes had the sensitivity to realize that their confused values.
He is the author of go, the horn and representative men. I cant help feeling annoyed at the idea of categorizing an entire generation. But if he is himself a beatnik, he is a beatnik with insight, a coherent beatnik. Good books about jazz are rare, and this was the best since young man with a horn. Go by john clellon holmes book cover, description, publication history. It is considered to be the first published novel depicting the beat generation. Set in new york, it concerns the lives of a collection of characters largely based on the friends holmes used to hang around with in the 1940s and 1950s in manhattan. John clellon holmes then wrote an article in late 1952 in the new york times magazine section with the headline title of the article, this is the beat generation. John clellon holmes was born on march 12, 1926 in holyoke, massachusetts, usa. A novel classic reprint by holmes, john clellon and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
John clellon holmes 19261988 was an american novelist, essayist, and poet. John clellon holmes john clellon holmes poems poem hunter. But kerouac waved away the question and said beat generation. In addition to these recordings, special collections also houses correspondence and other papers of john clellon holmes. Follow john clellon holmes and explore their bibliography from s john clellon holmes author page. John clellon holmes march 12, 1926, holyoke, massachusetts march 30, 1988, middletown, connecticut was an american author, poet and professor, best known for his 1952 novel go. Go, by john clellon holmes, is the first novel published by a member of the so called beat generation of the s in the united states. When go was finally published, it did not get the attention john clellon holmes had expected. A work of immense value to those interested in both jazz and literature, this bibliography is a comprehensive compilation showing that jazz and blues, in varying degrees, have made their mark in fiction.
Considered the first beat novel, go depicted events in his life with his friends jack kerouac, neal cassady and allen ginsberg. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. I was unaware of anns closeness to john clellon holmes, so this was a very pleasant surprise. He becomes the legend whose triumphant and tragic career is reconstructed. I dont believe any true statement can be made about a million or more people, except statements that are so general they are true for all times. Brother souls is the remarkable chronicle of this cornerstone friendship and the life of john clellon holmes. Edgar pool is the horn, the hero, and the man who helps chan. To many, this is the sum of all holmes is known for. Holmes later figured that he had moved twenty times before his eighteenth birthday. Go by john clellon holmes is a book ive had sitting on my bookshelf since picking up a copy of the 1977 hardcover reprint edition at the strand bookstore in 78 or 79. Go, by john clellon holmes, is the first novel published by a member of the socalled beat generation of the 1950s in the united states. John clellon holmes this is the beat generation the.
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