When I Was Cool
Encyclopedia
When I Was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School is Sam Kashner's autobiographical account of his experience as the first student at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poeticshttp://www.naropa.edu/w&p/, which was founded by Allen Ginsberg
in honor of his late friend, Jack Kerouac
. As he describes in his book, Kashner was a disgruntled Long Island
teenager in the 1970s who was obsessed with the poetry and prose of the Beat generation
of the 1950s.
Kashner's book provides a glimpse into the lives and creative processes of his teachers at the Jack Kerouac School, including Anne Waldman
, Allen Ginsberg
, William S. Burroughs
and Gregory Corso
. Among the various and curious details of life with the Beats, Kashner describes several of Ginsberg's unfinished poems that he asks Kashner to complete. He also recalls the lively conversations at his teachers' dinner parties, which touched on their methodologies as well as American Literature
in general. Kashner also chronicles the lingering effects of heroin and other drugs on Burroughs and Corso, as well as William S. Burroughs, Jr.
's alcoholism. The book offers a tour of the Beats during the end of their careers, thus offering a slightly different look at these legends as they enter the last part of their fame.
Kashner's book was published by HarperCollins
in 2004 and was reviewed favorably by the New York Times the same year.
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
in honor of his late friend, Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
. As he describes in his book, Kashner was a disgruntled Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
teenager in the 1970s who was obsessed with the poetry and prose of 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...
of the 1950s.
Kashner's book provides a glimpse into the lives and creative processes of his teachers at the Jack Kerouac School, including Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman is an American poet.Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist....
, Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
and Gregory Corso
Gregory Corso
Gregory Nunzio Corso was an American poet, youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers...
. Among the various and curious details of life with the Beats, Kashner describes several of Ginsberg's unfinished poems that he asks Kashner to complete. He also recalls the lively conversations at his teachers' dinner parties, which touched on their methodologies as well as American Literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
in general. Kashner also chronicles the lingering effects of heroin and other drugs on Burroughs and Corso, as well as William S. Burroughs, Jr.
William S. Burroughs, Jr.
William Seward Burroughs III was an American novelist, also known as William S. Burroughs, Jr. and Billy Burroughs. He bears the name of both his father and his great grandfather, William Seward Burroughs I, the original inventor of the Burroughs adding machine...
's alcoholism. The book offers a tour of the Beats during the end of their careers, thus offering a slightly different look at these legends as they enter the last part of their fame.
Kashner's book was published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in 2004 and was reviewed favorably by the New York Times the same year.