The Unspeakable Visions of the Individual Summary

This section covers the later work of the Beats, primarily written after the deaths of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady.

The excerpt from William S. Burroughs' "Nova Express" describes a sinking ship and the frantic actions the people aboard take to get away safely. Many of the passengers resort to violence in the panic. At the end of the excerpt, a handicapped man cuts off the fingers of another passenger attempting to board a lifeboat.

In "Columbia U Poesy Reading—1975" Gregory Corso reflects on reading poetry at Columbia University sixteen years earlier. Later in the poem, Corso discusses his use of opiates, particularly heroin. In "The Whole Mess...Almost" Corso describes getting rid of all the supposed values in his life.

Diane DiPrima's "April Fool Birthday Poem for Grandpa" is a memory...