INTERVIEW TO IRWIN ALLEN GINSBERG AND PETER ORLOWSKI

1. How do you think his poetry impacted the beat generation?

2. Do you think Allen Ginsberg, you were an important figure for the
beat generation?
3. Allen Ginsberg, how did you as a Buddhist go from being
religious to being so open with your sexuality?
4. Peter Orlovsky, what was it like to be drafted into the U.S. Army?
5. Peter Orlovsky, how did you as a Russian immigrant influence
the American community?
6. How did you meet each other?
7. How did it feel to be openly gay in such a conservationist period?
8. How did you cope as a couple at a time when being gay was
considered a sin?
9. Allen Ginsberg, how did you as a Buddhist go from being
religious to being so open with your sexuality?
10. As an openly gay couple, do you think you helped other
people feel free to be who they are?

The central elements of Beat culture are the rejection of standard

narrative values, making a spiritual quest, the exploration of
American and Eastern religions, the rejection of economic
materialism, explicit portrayals of the human condition,
experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation
and exploration.

One of the key beliefs and practices of the Beat Generation was
free love and sexual liberation, which strayed from the Christian
ideals of American culture at the time. Some Beat writers were
openly gay or bisexual, including two of the most prominent
which are Ginsberg and Burroughs
Their drug use was broadly inspired by intellectual interest, and
many Beat writers thought that their drug experiences enhanced
creativity, insight, or productivity. The use of drugs was a key
influence on many of the social events of the time that were
personal to the Beat generation.

In many ways, Surrealism was still considered a vital movement

in the 1950s.

Writers of the Beat Generation were heavily influenced by Jazz

artists like Billie Holiday and the stories told through Jazz music.
Writers like Jack Kerouac (On the Road), Bob Kaufman ("Round
About Midnight," "Jazz Chick," and "O-Jazz-O"), and Frank
O'Hara ("The Day Lady Died") incorporated the emotions they felt
toward Jazz. They used their pieces to discuss feelings, people,
and objects they associate with Jazz music, as well as life
experiences that reminded them of this style of music.