EXCERPT FROM 'This is the Beat Generation' BY JOHN CLENNON HOLMES

Any attempt to label an entire generation is unrewarding, and yet the generation which went through the last war [WWII], or at least could get a drink easily once it was over, seems to possess a uniform, general quality which demands an adjective ... The origins of the word 'beat' are obscure, but the meaning is only too clear to most Americans. More than mere weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and, ultimately, of soul; a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness. In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself. A man is beat whenever he goes for broke and wagers the sum of his resources on a single number; and the young generation has done that continually from early youth.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Two more conferences!



My recent attendance at the Dominican University College Student Association 10th Annual Student Conference was a fantastic experience. It was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by kindred psyches, not having to worry about people looking at me oddly when I mentioned eudaimonia in casual conversation. ;) That weekend I was pleasantly surprised to receive two more emails regarding other conferences:

1. The School of Thought Conference at the University of Western Ontario
http://bit.ly/cLoKuG
http://bit.ly/9BwzpS

2. 'Critical Reflections': An Undergraduate Philosophy Conference sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Windsor.
http://bit.ly/aICryO

Both informed me that my submission, 'Otto in the Chinese Room', had been selected for presentation! I was delighted.
Posted by at

1 comment:

Rants, diatribes, jeremiads, romodomotads and any sort of passionate prose will be welcomed here.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Followers

annotationz from underground

My photo
chronicler of the bre@kBeat generation