Countering the counterculture : rereading postwar American dissent from Jack Kerouac to Tomás Rivera / Manuel Luis Martinez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martínez, Manuel Luis.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Beats (Persons).

American literature--Mexican American authors--History and criticism.

American literature--Mexican American authors.

Literature and society--United States--History--20th century.

Literature and society.

United States.

History.

Counterculture--United States--History--20th century.

Counterculture.

Mexican Americans--Intellectual life.

Mexican Americans.

Mexican Americans in literature.

Social problems in literature.

Libertarianism in literature.

Dissenters in literature.

Physical Description:

ix, 353 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, [2003]

Summary:

Rebelling against bourgeois vacuity, the Beat writers and artists have long symbolized a spirit of freedom and radical democracy. Manuel Luis Martinez offers an eye-opening challenge to this characterization of the Beats, juxtaposing them against Chicano nationalists like Raul Salinas, Jose Montoya, Luis Valdez, and Oscar Acosta and Mexican migrant writers in the United States, like Tomas Rivera and Ernesto Galarza. IN an innovative rereading Martinez uncovers reactionary strains in the Beats' vision of freedom, and he brings out the complex stances of Latinos on democracy and progressive culture. He argues that, of the three groups, the migrant writers presented a distinctly radical and inclusive vision of democracy that was truly countercultural.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-348) and index.

ISBN:

0299192849

OCLC:

51854667