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 did Lew Welch enlist in the Army Air Corp?

2. Amiri Baraka studied at what university?

3. What scene does "Nova Express" describe?

4. Baraka's letter to "Evergreen Review" discusses whose rules for writing prose?

5. For what Los Angeles paper did Charles Bukowski write a weekly column?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the author and subject of "Poet of the Streets."

4. What is the subject of "Hymna to Archilochus"?

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

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

7. Who is Brenda Frazer? What is "Poem to Lee Forest" about?

8. What is "Nova Express" about?

9. What did Ed Sanders experience after reading "Howl"?

10. Who is Gary Snyder? What settings appear in his work?

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 novel On the Road and its importance to the Beat Generation's philosophies and ideologies. What are the fictionalized names about and "who is who"?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the author Kenneth Rexroth. For what works was Rexroth known? What examples are in the anthology? What is the poet's impact on the Beat Generation?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample