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American Hipster: A Life of Herbert Huncke, The Times Square Hustler Who Inspired the Beat Movement

by Hilary Holladay

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"American Hipster tells the tale of a New York sex worker and heroin addict whose unrepentant deviance caught the imagination of Beat writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. Teetering between exhaustion and existential despair, Hunke often said, "I'm beat, man." His line gave Kerouac the label for a down-at-the-heels generation seeking spiritual sustenance as well as "kicks" in post-war America."--P. [4] of cover.… (more)
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This is an interesting read. This is the man who "inspired the Beat Movement", but is pretty much a detestable person. He steals from his friends, is heavily addicted to drugs, and basically just lives off of others. It's cool that he coined the term "beat" and that he was an impressive storyteller. It's cool he shows up in so many literary books of the Beats. It's cool he was part of the history of the Kinsey research on sex. But he basically is just a leech. Right 'till the end of his life.

In Jack Kerouac's works, he is Junkey in "The Town and the City", and Elmer Hassel in "On The Road". In "Go" by John Clellon Holmes, he is Albert Anche. For Allen Ginsberg, he is the man with shoes full of blood in "Howl". So, Huncke is a big piece of the Beat movement. But a sad, sad piece too. ( )
  Stahl-Ricco | Aug 4, 2019 |
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"American Hipster tells the tale of a New York sex worker and heroin addict whose unrepentant deviance caught the imagination of Beat writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. Teetering between exhaustion and existential despair, Hunke often said, "I'm beat, man." His line gave Kerouac the label for a down-at-the-heels generation seeking spiritual sustenance as well as "kicks" in post-war America."--P. [4] of cover.

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