TAOW--Monday 12/1--Women of the Beat Generation

Take notes entitled Women of the Beat Generation (on a Word doc or in your notebook)

1. Check out Women's Roles in the 1950 and the 1950s home economics high school textbook that prepares girls for married life.

• Reflection: Would these roles and "rules" work for women today? Why do you think some women in the 1950s felt the need to move away from these roles and "rules"?

Watch five minutes of this 1950s TV show Father Knows Best or try this one.

• Reflection: How is the ideal 1950s family portrayed?

2. Read Breaking the Rule of Cool in Google Books. You are investigating the 3 Generations of Women Beat Poets. Start on page 8.


Reflection in your notes:

• List the names of the women of the first beat generation.
• Whose poem is reminiscent of Ginsberg's Howl?
• List who was part of the second wave of women beat writers. (pg. 11)
• How did the second wave have more social freedom and access to institutions of power?
• The third generation came during the transition from Beat to the hippie counterculture of the 60s, list the writers of the third wave. (pg. 16)
• What are some of the issues, themes, and topics of the third wave of women beat writers?

3. What was Lenore Kandel's Love Book and why were her poems so controversial?

• Reflection: After you are finished reading, write down how these courageous women beat writers might have influcened more expressive poetry and writing for women today?
• Be prepared to discuss in groups tomorrow!

4. Dialogue Poem--On your own, write a dialogue poem using any set of the following voices:

• Early generation male beat poet/early generation female beat poet
• Early generation male beat poet/later generation female beat poet
• Female beat poet/1950s housewife
• Early generation female beat poet/later generation female beat poet
• Any generation or gender of a beat poet/a young poet today
  

(Remember--a dialogue poem consists of two voices usually expressing contrasting viewpoints on similar topics. But feel free to experiment.)

Homework:

Due Monday, Dec. 1--Poetry Response
Paper

Block--"Howl" Inspired
Poem