Ashton, Dore. The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992.
Barthelme, Donald. Come Back, Dr. Caligari. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1964.
Short story collection that is dedicated to the author's mother and includes "TheJoker's Greatest Triumph" featuring characters from DC Comics. The book's title alludes to a German Expressionist film that is regarded by many as the first true horror film.
Barthelme, Donald. Sixty Stories. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.
Short story collection that includes "A Shower of Gold," "A City of Churches" and "Me and Mrs. Mandible."
Beat Collection. Barry Miles. London: Virgin Books, 2005.
This anthology includes Kerouac's "Jazz of The Beat Generation," Ginsberg's poems "Supermarket in California" and "America" and Corso's poem "Bomb," as well various writings/excerpts from William S. Burroughs.
Beat Reader. Ann Charters. New York: Penguin, 1992.
Burroughs, William. Naked Lunch. New York: Grove Press, 1991.
Burroughs postmodern masterpiece was cleared of obscenity charges by the State Supreme Court of Massachusetts in 1966 and has since found itself on numerous banned and challenged suggested reading lists.
Cronenberg on Cronenberg. Chris Rodley. London: Faber and Faber, 1997.
This installment of Faber and Faber's excellent series on conversations with filmmakers includes a chapter entitled "Bugs, Spies and Butterflies: Naked Lunch and M. Butterfly in which director-auteur David Cronenberg discusses bringing Burroughs' work to the screen.
Foster, Edward Halsey. Understanding the Beats. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1992.
Ginsberg, Allen. "Howl, Parts I & II." poets.org (accessed March 29, 2009).
The landmark poem in its full text is available along with an audio file of Allen Ginsberg performing/reading the work.
Hughes, Robert. The Shock of the New: The Hundred-Year History of Modern Art, Its Rise, Its Dazzling Achievement, Its Fall. New York: Knopf, 1980.
This overview of Modern Art includes all of the various movements or "-isms" from the late nineteenth century until its publication, includes many full color photographs and a BBC produced companion video is available on DVD through the New Haven Free Public Library.
Kerouac and The Beats: A Primary Sourcebook. Arthur and Kit Knight. New York: Paragon House, 1988.
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Kerouac's novel challenges the American Dream and caused writer Truman Capote to famously remark, "That's not writing; that's typing."
Menand, Louis. "Saved From Drowning: Barthelme reconsidered." The New Yorker, February 23, 2009, 68-76.
Wolfe, Thomas. You Can't Go Home Again. New York: Harper Perennial, 1968.
The chapter entitled "Piggy Logan's Circus" (pp. 214-221) masterfully recreates the work and energy of American artist Alexander Calder.