Offbeat generation
Encyclopedia
The Offbeat generation was a loose association of like-minded writers working across different styles but united by their opposition to a mainstream publishing industry driven by marketing departments. The term -- coined by Andrew Gallix in 3:AM Magazine
in February 2006—was a pun on the Beat Generation
but more likely to be associated with the Chemical generation
immediately before it (who were anthologised at the Repetitive Beat Generation also).
In August 2007 Arena
wrote of them: "Young, untamed, good-looking and as influenced by punk rock as they are by Proust, a new wave of loosely-linked writers dubbed The Off-Beat Generation have been blitzing the net with stories and poems via MySpace
and supportive sites such as 3:AM Magazine
to organise events and gain publicity." http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/literary-pipe-bombers/.
The Arena article cited Tony O'Neill
, Travis Jeppesen
and Tao Lin
as its key members. A piece on The Guardian
website discussed possible overlaps with the Brutalists
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/the_rise_and_rise_of_the_bruta.html.
According to a February 2009 feature in the Spanish daily ABC, the members of the Offbeat Generation are Noah Cicero
, Ben Myers
, Andrew Gallix, Lee Rourke
, Adelle Stripe
, Tao Lin
, Tom McCarthy
, HP Tinker
, Chris Killen, Heidi James and Tony O'Neill
http://www.abc.es/20090126/cultura-literatura/estoy-contra-ello-200901261540.html.
In June 2009, 3:AM Magazine
referred to Dazed & Aroused, by Gavin James Bower
, as 'nothing less than a Less Than Zero for the Offbeat Generation' http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/3am-top-5-gavin-james-bower/. The writers associated with the nascent movement have not however cooperated again as of August 2011.
3:AM Magazine
3:AM Magazine is a literary magazine, which was set up as 3ammagazine.com in April 2000 and is edited from Paris. Its editor-in-chief since inception has been Andrew Gallix, a lecturer at the Sorbonne ....
in February 2006—was a pun on the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
but more likely to be associated with the Chemical generation
Chemical generation
The Chemical Generation refers to a collection of writers in the 1990s who added a literary dimension to the hedonistic ecstasy culture of the era....
immediately before it (who were anthologised at the Repetitive Beat Generation also).
In August 2007 Arena
Arena (magazine)
Arena was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had started The Face in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed The Face, designed Arena's launch appearance.The magazine featured...
wrote of them: "Young, untamed, good-looking and as influenced by punk rock as they are by Proust, a new wave of loosely-linked writers dubbed The Off-Beat Generation have been blitzing the net with stories and poems via MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and supportive sites such as 3:AM Magazine
3:AM Magazine
3:AM Magazine is a literary magazine, which was set up as 3ammagazine.com in April 2000 and is edited from Paris. Its editor-in-chief since inception has been Andrew Gallix, a lecturer at the Sorbonne ....
to organise events and gain publicity." http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/literary-pipe-bombers/.
The Arena article cited Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill is a New York-based author. A one time musician with Kenickie , Marc Almond , The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kelli Ali , O'Neill is also the author of several books including Digging The Vein 2006, Down and Out on Murder Mile 2008 and Sick City 2010.Digging the Vein was a novel...
, Travis Jeppesen
Travis Jeppesen
Travis Jeppesen , Florida is an American novelist, poet, and art critic.He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and moved to New York City at the age of 17. He received his B.A. from The New School, where he studied literature and philosophy...
and Tao Lin
Tao Lin
Tao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...
as its key members. A piece on The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
website discussed possible overlaps with the Brutalists
Brutalists
Brutalism is a literary movement formed in 2006 by three writers from the north of England , and may have been the first literary movement to be launched via the social networking site Myspace where it announced itself with the following manifesto:"Brutalism calls for writing that touches upon...
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/the_rise_and_rise_of_the_bruta.html.
According to a February 2009 feature in the Spanish daily ABC, the members of the Offbeat Generation are Noah Cicero
Noah Cicero
Noah Cicero is an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio, and is the author of six books of fiction:...
, Ben Myers
Ben Myers
Ben Myers is an English writer.His first novel The Book Of Fuck, a fictionalised account about a hapless music journalist, was published to underground acclaim in 2004 through Wrecking Ball Press. Myers claimed it was written in six days "as a joke"...
, Andrew Gallix, Lee Rourke
Lee Rourke
Lee Rourke is a writer and editor. He is the author of the short story collection Everyday and the novel The Canal published by Melville House Publishing...
, Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe is a poet from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. In 2006, alongside Tony O'Neill and Ben Myers she formed possibly the first literary movement spawned via a social networking site, The Brutalists, who the BBC described as a 'group of young writers with a back-to-basics approach to...
, Tao Lin
Tao Lin
Tao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...
, Tom McCarthy
Tom McCarthy (writer)
-Life and work:Tom McCarthy is a writer and conceptual artist. He was born in 1969 and lives in central London. McCarthy grew up in Greenwich, south London and was educated at Dulwich College and later New College, Oxford, where he studied English literature. He lived in Prague, Berlin and...
, HP Tinker
HP Tinker
HP Tinker is a Manchester-based short story writer whose avant garde fiction has frequently been compared to Borges and Donald Barthelme...
, Chris Killen, Heidi James and Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill is a New York-based author. A one time musician with Kenickie , Marc Almond , The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kelli Ali , O'Neill is also the author of several books including Digging The Vein 2006, Down and Out on Murder Mile 2008 and Sick City 2010.Digging the Vein was a novel...
http://www.abc.es/20090126/cultura-literatura/estoy-contra-ello-200901261540.html.
In June 2009, 3:AM Magazine
3:AM Magazine
3:AM Magazine is a literary magazine, which was set up as 3ammagazine.com in April 2000 and is edited from Paris. Its editor-in-chief since inception has been Andrew Gallix, a lecturer at the Sorbonne ....
referred to Dazed & Aroused, by Gavin James Bower
Gavin James Bower
Gavin James Bower is a British writer and editor. His first novel, Dazed & Aroused, was published by Naim Attallah's Quartet Books in July 2009....
, as 'nothing less than a Less Than Zero for the Offbeat Generation' http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/3am-top-5-gavin-james-bower/. The writers associated with the nascent movement have not however cooperated again as of August 2011.