• Editor: Carmela Ciuraru (American book and magazine editor)

The founding fathers of the Beat aesthetic, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, are joined in this Beat anthology by lesser-known poets and prose stylists such as Bob Kaufman and Peter Orlovsky. Widely representing the movement, this collection also includes the voices of female Beatniks Diane Di Prima and Denise Levertov, among others. Correspondence and essays issuing from the era supplement the collection.

Complemented by commentary on Beat poetics and selections from the letters of Beat Generation writers, this collection of expressive and improvisational poetry features contributions from Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Robert Creeley, Diane Di Prima, Gregory Corso, Denise Levertov, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Peter Orlovsky, and other notables.

"This is a superb little book, which doesn't surprise me a bit. Ciuraru is an adroit writer, remarkably gifted at seeing into the hearts of poets. BEAT POETS evinces her consummate good taste, and the introduction she has written for the book manages to be both succinct and penetrating...Many have written about the Beat Generation, but few have summarized that literary/artistic phenomenon with such snap and good humor."   -  Kansas City Star