Book Review: Can't Stop The Beat: The Life And Words Of A Beat Poet By ruth weiss

I recently received a copy of the book Can't Stop The Beat: The Life And Words Of A Beat Poet by ruth weiss to review.


What is a beat poet, you might ask? Beat Poetry came into prominence in the early 1950's and was kind of a predecessor to both "beatniks" and hippies, as well as even the hip hop movement. The artists combined poetry with music and rhythm, battling stereotypes in their wording. Many of the prominent artists did use hallucinogenic drugs and/or meditation, and the movement was mostly centered in New York City and San Francisco.

ruth weiss was on the forefront of the movement, having escaped Nazi Germany before making her way to San Francisco. Quirkily, she purposely has her name uncapitalized as a protest against law and order. (I like quirky, as you know!) Back in the days, on every Wednesday, she would hold court with poetry and jazz sessions at The Cellar. Fast forward many years, and she has published many poems and anthologies, as well as several films. Now known as "The Goddess of The Beats", you can't help but admire the fact that she is still going strong in her 80's.

Can't Stop The Beat: The Life And Words Of A Beat Poet includes the first time in print "I Always Thought You Black" and "Compass", both two long form poems. "I Always Thought You Black" is a tribute to her African-American artist friends, while "Compass" is about a road trip through Mexico. It also includes "Ten Ten", and muse and comments from ruth. Included are also some personal photographs of ruth throughout the years.

If you are unfamiliar with this style of poetry, but you like Haiku, you may enjoy Can't Stop The Beat: The Life And Words Of A Beat Poet. Granted, if you are big on punctuation, the lack of capitalization and over punctuation may drive you a little crazy since you are just reading it, rather than listening to it being spoken, but please look at it as art - ruth weiss is really one of the last living true beat poets of the 1950's, and it's fascinating.

Can't Stop The Beat: The Life And Words Of A Beat Poet by ruth weiss is a softcover American Poetry book published by Divine Arts Media. It is 185 pages long and available at your favorite bookstore. The suggested cover price is $15.95, but Amazon has it available for just $11.96 as of this posting.

Please note that I did receive a copy of this book in order to share my thoughts on it. All opinions are my own, and not that of the author(s) or publisher.