View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Diane DiPrima born?

2. Albion is another name for what?

3. Peter Orlovsky was whose lover?

4. The poem "The Night Is a Space of White Marble" describes a wild experience in __________.

5. Whom did Charles Bukowski write an article about meeting shortly before his death in "Tales of Beatnik Glory"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What literary and political allusions are in "Sourdough Mountain Lookout"?

2. What is "Highway Ninety-Nine"?

3. What political allusions does Diane DiPrima make in "April Fool Birthday Poem for Grandpa"?

4. Who is Frank O'Hara? Is he part of the Beat movement? What works of his are in the anthology?

5. Describe Tuli Kupferberg and his pieces in The Portable Beat Reader.

6. What similes does Bremser use in the poem "Funny Lotus Blues..."? Why?

7. What is "Nova Express" about?

8. What does Bukowski insinuate about Neal Cassady in "Notes of a Dirty Old Man"?

9. How did the term "Beat" evolve into the late 50s and early 60s?

10. What is the subject of "Kentucky Ham"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the poet Michael McClure. What are his contributions to the Beat Generation? In what works has he been immortalized?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the poets Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen. Where did these poets meet? How did they become associated with the Beat Generation?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Beat icon Neal Cassady. When was he born and when did he die? What was his family like? How did he meet the other Beats? What was the general opinion of Cassady?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 831 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample