A Different Beat: Writing by Women of the Beat Generation

Richard Peabody, whose own writing and editing receives too little attention, has here provided a varied and rich collection of often unknown named woman writers whose words echo back to a time we cannot forget. In many ways their views and sensibilities advance our understanding of their time and individual condition more than their more known male contemporaries. Peabody has provided another service to readers as he does with his series "Gargoyles" and his soon to be available novella "Sugar Mountain."

Although, most beat anthologies focus mainly on the works of male beat writers; "A Different Beat" provides an excellent source of women who were writing during the Beat Movement. This book is a testament that women were involved in the Beat Movement, and they were not merely watching "their men" from the sidelines. They were expressing themselves through their prose and poetry. I started to give this book four stars for providing a broad (yet sadly, still incomplete) selection of women who were active in the Beat Movement. However, since Elise Cowen's poetry was included in this anthology, I had to give it one more star. If you are interested in "beatnik" writers, this book is definitely something you should pick up.