Postcards from the Underground: Portraits of the Beat Era

by Larry Keenan

In 1965, Larry Keenan was asked by the poet and playwright Michael McClure if we would like to photograph a group of his friends. Asking McClure who his friends were, Kennan was astounded when he listed the names that included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Bruce Conner, Neal Cassady, and Ken Kesey. He had studied the works of these groundbreaking poets, writers, and artists, and recognized the significance of this opportunity.

Twenty-one...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872863654
• ISBN13: 9780872863651
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: City Lights Books
• Length: 20 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.4" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Keenan's incredible ocular journey

Thanks to Larry Keenan's masterful photography, we are left with a visually potent view of the Beat Generation and beyond. Keenan's photo-documentation is necessary, for it captures many essential moments of Ginsberg, Whalen, Cassady, McClure, Dylan, and many others. Without Keenan's illustration of people and events that have already hooked us deeply, we would no doubt be struggling along empty-eyed, wondering where's the color, the depth, the light, and the angle of the Beats? We know their literature; we know something about their personal biographies. Yet equally (if not more) important is knowing what everything looked like. Keenan has provided us the images. He has provided us the most incredible ocular journey, one that goes wham and hits us with sentiment and longing. Keenan wasn't just behind the camera; he was and is part of the rich fabric that wraps around several ripples of 'eras,' including the Beat Generation. Keenan has transcended a few decades of American history and created a movie for us that is shot in still-frames, but which is alive and three-dimension....