 "Beatnik
Party"
by John Schuyler
Bedside Books, Inc., 1959
Beatniks--the granddad of
today's Slackers. They lead the wild, hedonistic lives that most people
of the day could only imagine. Kerouac sent the hipsters on the road, Ginsberg
made them howl. Jazz made them bop and the wine and reefer made them go,
like crazy, man! The back cover reads: "Crazed with strange desires! San
Francisco beatnik Peter Lugaris tries to force his younger brother Axel
to accept the warped philosophy and sinful passions of the beat generation.
Only after a great inner struggle is Axel able to escape the twisted and
unusual society that is rapidly enveloping today's teenagers. A society
that advocates and encourages...shameful affair!" Throughout these pages
you read about the wild party existence of Axel, nicknamed the "Ghoul"
for his black wardrobe and goatee, and his Charles Atlas-type overbearing
brother Peter, the local hipster bar owner, and the Ghoul's love intrest
Norma, who (surprise) is a burlesque dancer with a crazy kitty kat costume.
Back in the late 50's, you slap the words "beatnik," "sinful," "reefer,"
"naked," "jail bait," or "juvenile" on the cover in big letters and you
were promised sales. Most of these books were big on promise and short
on payoff, but Beatnik Party is one of those tawdry paperbacks
that actually makes you glad you picked it up.
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