''Beat Scene'' is a UK-based magazine dedicated to the work, the history and the cultural influences of the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

. As well the best known and more obscure Beat novelists and poets this has included artists, musicians filmmakers and publishers. The content largely consists of articles, memoirs, interviews and reviews. ''Beat Scene'' was founded in 1988 by editor and publisher Kevin Ring in Coventry, England. His personal fascination for the Beat Generation, in particular

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

, was sparked in 1971, but he was frustrated that information about Beat writers and their books was hard to come by in the UK at that time. Ring and ''Beat Scene'' are acknowledged sources in James Campbell's book, ''This Is the Beat Generation: New York–San Francisco-Paris.'' (2001).

Early issues

The first ''Beat Scene'' and subsequent four issues were thin A5 booklets. Initially, there were only 200 copies produced and hand assembled on Ring's kitchen table. As well as the principal Beat writers: Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of ...

, the magazine has featured

Lord Buckley Lord Richard Buckley (born Richard Myrle Buckley; April 5, 1906 – November 12, 1960) was an American stand-up comedian and recording artist, who in the 1940s and 1950s created a character that was, according to ''The New York Times'', "an unli ...

James Jones James Jones may refer to: Sports Association football *James Jones (footballer, born 1873) (1873–1955), British Olympic footballer * James Jones (footballer, born 1996), Scottish footballer for Wrexham *James Jones (footballer, born 1997), Wel ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c. September 16, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four bo ...

, Lew Welch, Lawrence Ferlinghetti,

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

, Michael McClure, Ken Kesey, Jack Hirschman, Raymond Carver,

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, Gregory Corso, Diane Di Prima, Philip Whalen, Jack Micheline, Carolyn Cassady (who was the first of the magazine's interview subjects) and many others. The poet and Kerouac biographer Tom Clark has contributed to the magazine but was also interviewed by Ring. Charles Bukowski was frequently mentioned in the early issues and when issue 9 was in preparation Ring received an unsolicited letter from the Los Angeles-based poet and novelist along with a parcel of previously unpublished poems. These were offered for publication at the magazine's usual rate, which at the time amounted to a few complimentary copies. Over the years Bukowski continued to contribute poems to the magazine and issue 12 included a

flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

of him reading. Bukowski was interviewed by Ring for ''Beat Scene'' and its sister magazine, ''Transit''. After Bukowski died in 1994 Ring compiled a memorial issue. There was another special issue in 2004, to mark the tenth anniversary of Bukowski's death. More recently there has been an expanded THE BEATS IN BRITAIN issue of the magazine.

Contributors

''Beat Scenes many regular contributors have included, Jim Burns, Colin Cooper, Brian Dalton, Anne Waldman, David Meltzer, Jack Foley, David Holzer, Jed Birmingham. In December 2006, a special, unnumbered issue was devoted to a new edition of Iain Sinclair's Kodak Mantra Diaries, which included new material and recently discovered period photos.''Guardian''
/ref> Alongside the magazine, Ring operates The Beat Scene Pres

which specialises in publishing classic Beat interviews or new, longer articles on Beat culture. This includes a series of limited edition chapbooks, usually signed and numbered. Amongst those in the series there has been texts by or about Dan Fante, Snyder, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Bukowski, Clark, Tom Clark, Iain Sinclair, Alan Moore, Joyce Johnson, Gregory Corso, Kerouac, John Clellon Holmes, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen, Philip Lamantia, Peter Coyote, Michael McClure and Richard Brautigan. The number 60 issue was a Jack Kerouac special and there has been a special 'Beats in England' issue. & a William Burroughs special in more recent times. ''Beat Scene'' has an occasional companion magazine ''Transit'' with contributions from Michael McClure, David Meltzer, Diane di Prima, Joanne Kyger, Janine Pommy Vega, Barry Gifford, Jack Hirschman, Ruth Weiss, Tom Clark.

References

{{Authority control Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1988

Early issues

Contributors

See also

See also

References