Female Beat Writer

Wow, finally a female “beat” writer and she represents herself as a successful poet who has gone through many ups and downs and yet has left an impression on American society as an exemplar. She is not only a “revolutionary activist” but she’s a female too! 

Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages and she has received the National Endowment for the Arts grant, Lifetime Achievement in Poetry for the Arts award from the NPA . . . Master Artist/Poet, awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature degree, a finalist for the Poet Laureate of California but was named Poet Laureate of San Francisco, among many other notable titles she earned for her hard work, and dedication. I can go on and on about Di Prima’s founding and co-founding success, however, I only want to write about works that have been introduced to me in class. So here it goes:

“what I ate where”

di drima has an interesting approach because her writing contains no capital letters at the introduction of her paragraphs nor does she use them when referencing names. this section of my blog will illustrate her work in order to capture some of the elements in this particular reading. using this technique gives the appearance of a diary, which is exactly how I used to write mine when I was around eight years old. another noticeable element is how conversational and informal it is making the reading easier to follow, until I hit the third line where she describes a food she remembers eating; it’s called “menstrual pudding,” which immediately caught my attention.

THANKSGIVING, 1955

She begins this poem with the list of items in lowercase and the shopping list in all caps. As she begins to write her GUEST LIST she is more formal in her writing as she capitalizes appropriately, which she find necessary for the occasion. However, after a huge gap she mixes both informal and formal writing style which gives emphasis to what she capitalizes.

As she progresses into her story, she no longer eats “menstrual pudding,” which by the way happens to be mashed potatoes and tomato sauce; she gradually goes from eating that to going on an Oreos bing which she says is fattening...REALLY? She gradually adds to her menu French bread, peanut butter, Lipton soup, and then she finally enjoys the finer things in life like blue cheese, caviar, Swedish bread, smoked ham, and sour cream. She uses descriptive imagery with lots of humor which I find to be one of the elements that lacked in other beat writers.

Her poetry in prose is much like the other beat writers. Like Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs, she provides her own prospective of what life was like for the many struggling artists that came and went having to share everything with the exception that she is more optimistic and much less gloomier. Her reading seems to be more grounded and less mediocre because her poems are heartfelt. Her reflective moments were recounted as food which I believe comforted her.

She desired to have a baby without being in a relationship but regardless, makes the best out of the circumstances and is compelled to write odes to her child which is beautifully written. Unlike her beat counterparts previously mentioned, Di Prima is nurturing, selfless, and although she imitates Kerouac’s style of writing, she is innovative in her own way.