Editorial

 

Jack Magazine was originally the brainchild of Michael Rothenberg (Big Bridge) and me, after we had talked endlessly about how to present what the Beat Generation was doing back in the 1940s and 50s--but with a fresh perspective. We thought that since many of the artists of that time were still alive and still doing their stuff, why say that the Beats were dead? Also, newer people had continued on, picking up where the beats left off. Older issues of Jack deal with plenty of that, and current issues still do, but with less a focus on the old beats. In the course of this magazine's life, we've seen the deaths of Philip Whalen, Gregory Corso, John Thomas, and others.

My old site, Beat Generation News, was a tribute to those times. I tried to present the site in such a way that beat myths were broken, which by nature meant a more scholarly approach. This past year, however, I took the site down. I just didn't have the time to update it anymore or keep up with all the e-mails about it. Also, I got tired of the fact that no matter how you present a literary time period of authors and artists, it's very hard not to pigeon-hole and label them into some kind of "generation." It was like trying to pour a time period from a paper cup into the hands of a child; there are too many mixed metaphors and impossibilities to wrap such a concept up neatly. Looking at Beat News as an educational site, too, the child or student often still comes away perplexed and not understanding. That left me with the final belief that to experience the essence of such artists and authors, one must read or see for themselves, not be spoonfed concepts with analyses and biased personal ideas. There are plenty of books and films out there that do that.

However, the site was a labor of love that endured several years, and I didn't want to see everything go off into no man's land. So this issue re-publishes some of the "best of" articles and reviews from Beat Generation News, since they're no longer available on the Web.

In other news: I've moved from California to the Chicago area. I really didn't want to move; I got laid off and had to move. So it's been a rough transition, though not without a pretty cool road trip across the country and being able to meet some really nice folks along the way. I've made a definite choice to move back to California as soon as possible, but I don't regret having to move away. I saw some amazing things along the way, and I got to see my family again. But my heart roams back to where I want to be, and I know that sometimes you have to go away to get some kind of perspective about where you belong.

Anyway, seems when things get rough I try to eclipse into myself, but I wanted to thank a few people for their help during this last year or so:

    • Everyone in my family, especially my brother William and his wife Marisol for letting me move in with them while I look for another job. But everyone: Mom, Dad, James, Ken, John, Marcie, Katie, Laura, Rachel, Elaine, and Jen.
    • Kris for being a good person during this move. This is a girl who has her head on straight and will go far, I have no doubt.
    • Ron and Barbara for a great time in Kansas City.
    • Jeff and Minnie for being a neat extended family, just when I thought that most people were selfish and didn't really care.
    • Matt for everything under the sun as of last summer. I am not sure if I ever deserved such a nice interlude with such interesting antics and funny stuff to boot. Thanks for a wonderful friendship. There is thievery here! Keep those thumbaloids in mind.
    • Ken for being so funny and being one of the few people I trust 100%--and for watching one of my last sunsets in California with me as we waited for Beck to come onstage at the Irvine Meadows. We will go to Pinks sooner or later.
    • Josh for times on the balcony, for 9/11 cake, and for hopefully a lifetime friendship that will lead us back to California so we can discuss our sorry lives while planning to go surfing again.
    • Brian for the pasta and dishes, and all the humor!
    • Nathan for speaking in riddles and always, always giving me a keen insight to things that I had become pedantic about. Remember, Frida Kahlo had it right about loyalty vs. fidelity, but I don't think that most men know monogamy. I will read more Anne Sexton, and the book is "on the way."
    • Lisa, Bob, and Laurie, for staying in the Chicago area so I'd have someone to hang out with (high school pals).
    • Michael R. for his patience in keeping in touch with me as I roam about the country.
    • Michael (bali) for understanding when he said: "When the green rolling brush hills pock-marked with boulders started to roll in, I felt alive again." He knows.
    • Suji for the nice girl talks, coffee on the beach, and for redoing my resume to make it look really nice. We're always moving around in search of something.
    • All the people who've made me laugh a lot despite the fact I hardly have felt like laughing: Andrew, Tucker, Todd, Julian (charred), Megs, and Nadine (hope).
    • "Squibbles" for giving me tips on Jack's layout (and for the ongoing guild!).
    • Adrian and Eddie for continuing to write despite my failure at e-mail things.
    • Dan for keeping in touch via all his cool pics of the same country I've been to (from Morro Bay to Utah and beyond), and Deborah for looking out for me thousands of miles away.
    • Jade for being an ornery wolf-dawg companion in this cold place.
    • Mr. Shesha's coffeehouse on Ogden Avenue for their nice attitude, Egyptian treats, and strawberry tobacco with hookahs.
    • Dido, for saying "I would love to live by the sea. To travel the world alone and live more simply." For reals, nothing we have is truly ours.

-Mary Sands, October 25, 2003