When you think about the Beat Generation what usually comes to mind are the dominant poets and writers of that time... Ginsberg, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, Corso... all men. They are certainly the people I studied in school. But less known were the women involved in that movement, forced into the background simply because of the gender stereotypes of the time, and frankly, we've missed out. ruth weiss (always spelled in lower case) is one of last living Beat poets and one of the pioneering women of the era. ruth weiss was most likely the first to blend Jazz and poetry (a form that the men of the movement were largely credited and known for) and she was called "the goddess of the Beat" generation among her contemporaries. Now in her 80s, she recently came out with a new book, Can't Stop the Beat: The Life and Words of a Beat Poet.The book is broken up into three main works: "Ten Ten," "I Always Thought You Black," and "Compass," but also includes shorter poems, personal photos, and recounted memories and notes throughout. Whether you are a fan of Beat poetry or not, what is fascinating about this book is that it is really half poetry and half memoir (or perhaps memoir in poetry form), which also makes it very accessible. Reading her poetry feels like stepping back in time to that period of 1950s Beat Generation San Francisco and it becomes as much a historical read as it is one of art.
