And The Beat Goes On

March 25, 2:02 PMEast Bay Literary ExaminerTony R. Rodriguez

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Beat’s not dead. Far from it. Today, we can find an entire carnival of Beat movements spreading into computers and bookstores and libraries. In particular, the online Beat presence continues to run rampant like a ferocious brushfire, poetically branching out to the masses with potent insight and challenging ideals. Most notably, two online publications continue to do their best to archive the modern-day Beat movement: its intellectual wonder, poetic confessionals and street-level prophecies.

 

In the United Kingdom, THE BEAT stands proudly as the pinnacle of online beatitude. Here, publisher, editor, and writer, Sean McGahey compiles an impressive rolling collection of modern-day Beat writers, poets and intellectuals. THE BEAT has published the works of Brian Fugett, Joseph Ridgwell, Lisa Zaran, Mark Gwynne Jones, Rob Rosen, and Steve Finbow, who collectively are just a small handful of writers making strong ripples for Beat in the greater literary ocean of the world.

America, the country where Beat proudly originated, sends the literary masses MADSWIRL magazine.  Editor, writer, and artist, Johnny Olson has managed to keep MADSWIRL many steps ahead of most Beat publications. Publishing in both print and online, MADSWIRL serves raw and pulsating thoughts that speak of loss and gain, wisdom and ignorance, and innocence and experience. Through artwork, poetry and prose, MADSWIRL happily swirls around the psyche of any Beat enthusiast.

So check out THE BEAT and MADSWIRL, and delve into the ardent works of the modern-day beats. And I’m sure that if he were still around today, Kerouac would be most proud!

Copyright © 2009 Tony R. Rodriguez, Examiner.com