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The Beat Generation Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
The Beat Generation Quizzes, Trivia

The Beat Generation Trivia

The Beat Generation Trivia Quizzes

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This American literary movement of the 1950s rejected contemporary economic materialism along with traditional narrative structures in their writing. Some of the best-known exponents include William S. Burroughs, Alan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
4 quizzes and 45 trivia questions.
1.
  America's Beat Generation   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The name 'Beat generation' is evocative even for people who couldn't name a single author who belonged to it. Test your knowledge about them, or learn something, by playing this quiz.
Average, 10 Qns, rossian, Aug 04 20
Average
rossian editor
Aug 04 20
333 plays
2.
  The Beat Generation    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the early 1950's, a new movement called the "Beat Generation" was born. The Beat Generation writers told of everyday life and struggles. Their poetry and lifestyle became a springboard for a new stance on literature and social views.
Average, 10 Qns, wilco_usa, Jan 12 16
Average
wilco_usa
628 plays
3.
  Burroughs and the Beat Writers    
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
A quick quiz on the classic works of the 'Beat' writers and some of their more recent projects. Enjoy!
Average, 5 Qns, Akhnaten, Aug 11 12
Average
Akhnaten
874 plays
4.
  The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
This quiz is for true fans of beat literature...some questions are easy, some aren't.
Difficult, 20 Qns, thefreak_13, Aug 05 20
Difficult
thefreak_13
Aug 05 20
712 plays

The Beat Generation Trivia Questions
1. The main 'era' of the Beat generation is linked to which decade of the twentieth century?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: 1950s

The Beat generation was a group of young (mainly) men, who had seen the end of the Second World War and the first use of the atomic bomb in anger. Although the war had ended, the world had moved straight into the Cold War with the underlying threat of more nuclear disaster, so the 1950s created a need for rebellion in young men. They rejected the traditional standards of both the American 'way of life' and mainstream poetry, with spontaneity being key. Britain had a similar rebellious group, dubbed 'the angry young men', which included Harold Pinter and John Osborne, who also rejected the status quo, expressing their dissatisfaction in plays and novels.

2. To whom did Allen Ginsberg dedicate the poem 'Howl?'

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Carl Solomon

Ginsberg's poem 'Kaddish' was dedicated to Naomi Ginsberg, his mother. He also wrote a poem called 'On Burroughs' Work' for none other than the wonderful William S. Burroughs.

3. Who wrote 'On The Road'?

From Quiz Burroughs and the Beat Writers

Answer: Jack Kerouac

'On The Road' was written on a single roll of paper on an ancient device known as a typewriter.

4. Which chorus in Jack Kerouac's 'Mexico City Blues' contains the line: 'Charlie Parker looked like Buddha'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: 239 Chorus

5. What book store in San Francisco was famous for hosting readings by the 'Beat' poets?

From Quiz Burroughs and the Beat Writers

Answer: City Lights

6. Which English poet (1757-1827) is cited as being a major influence on the Beat poets, in particular on Allen Ginsberg?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: William Blake

Ginsberg claimed that Blake appeared to him twice. On the first occasion, in 1945, Ginsberg 'saw' Blake read his poem 'Ah, Sun-flower' to him and the poet appeared again in 1948 while Ginsberg was reading 'The Sick Rose'. Ginsberg claimed it as being 'the deepest spiritual experience' of his life, often read 'Ah, Sun-flower' during performances and wrote poetry about sunflowers himself. Blake himself claimed to be inspired by visions with his poems being channelled through him rather than being his own creation. Of the other options, Chaucer lived in the fourteenth century, Owen was a World War I poet and Keats lived from 1795 to 1821.

7. "Naked Lunch" and "The Place Of Dead Roads" were written by this Beat Generation author. This writer was arrested in Mexico after he re-created a scene from the legend of William Tell, in which he shot his wife between the eyes. Who was this author?

From Quiz The Beat Generation

Answer: William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs wrote about his own heroin abuse in the book "Junky". He appeared in the Gus Van Sant film "Drugstore Cowboy" with Matt Dillon.

8. Which Burrough's work contains the following: 'Back in Bogota. I have a crate of yage. I have taken it and know more or less how it is prepared'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: The Yage Letters

9. What is the popular rock group that recorded 'Bodhisattva' and whose name was inspired by an object in 'The Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs?

From Quiz Burroughs and the Beat Writers

Answer: Steely Dan

'The Soft Machine' is the name of another novel by William S. Burroughs. Although William S. Burroughs did work as an exterminator, he was not an influence on the name of the Beatles.

10. In which book, written by a Beat generation author and first published in 1959, is William Lee the main character?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: Naked Lunch

William Lee is the name adopted by William Burroughs in the book, based on his own experiences and written in the form of what Burroughs named 'routines'. The 'routines', or vignettes, can be read in any order and are 'snapshots' of episodes in the life of the main character, who also goes by various other names in the book. The publication date of 1959 refers to an edition published in France by Olympia Press, who used the title 'The Naked Lunch'. It was not published in the USA until 1962. The explicit descriptions of Lee's drug use and sex, including homosexual sex, in America, Mexico and an 'out of this world' place called the interzone caused huge controversy. Of the works listed, only 'Naked Lunch' is by Burroughs - the rest are by Kerouac.

11. Which San Franciscan Beat wrote 'Peyote Poem'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Michael McClure

12. Joan Vollmer was the most prominent female member of the 'Beats' and was the common law wife of William Burroughs. Where were the pair living when she met her untimely death?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: Mexico

In lives filled with controversy, this might be the most controversial event of all. Burroughs was dependent on drugs and was arrested on suspicion of arranging a shipment of marijuana - an offence which could have led to imprisonment. He moved to Mexico City, out of reach of US justice, where Joan and her two children, the younger one having been fathered by Burroughs, joined him. Life there was shambolic - Burroughs was regularly unfaithful, often with men. In September 1951, Joan was shot dead aged only twenty-eight. The only facts that are certain are that she was shot in the head and the gun was owned by Burroughs. He changed his explanation of events several times, but the version which has passed into folklore is that Joan had balanced a glass on her head which Burroughs had shot at in an effort to imitate William Tell with inevitable and tragic results.

13. The Beat Movement primarily started in which two American cities?

From Quiz The Beat Generation

Answer: New York and San Francisco

Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, and William S. Burroughs met in New York near Columbia University. Gary Synder, Michael McClure, and Philip Whalen met in San Francisco.

14. This Beat killed his wife by allegedly shooting a glass off her head, "William Tell" style, while drunk.

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: William S. Burroughs

15. Who is the St. Louis born, Harvard educated, and heroin addicted beat writer who worked with Tom Waits and Robert Wilson in the production of the opera 'The Black Rider' which premiered in Hamburg in 1993?

From Quiz Burroughs and the Beat Writers

Answer: William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs both wrote the libretto and provided narration for the opera which had its U.S. premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

16. Probably the best known work by a Beat generation author is 'On the Road'. Which name did author Jack Kerouac give to Allen Ginsberg in the novel?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: Carlo Marx

Published in 1957, the book is based on various journeys made by Kerouac and his associates, who are given new names in the novel. Kerouac himself is known as Sal Paradise, Neal Cassady is Dean Moriarty, Burroughs is Old Bull Lee (Lee being his mother's maiden name) and Ginsberg is called Carlo Marx. The name may be based on Karl Marx and chosen to reflect the group's anti-capitalism ideals. The novel met with a mixed response initially, but came to be considered a seminal work of American literature with artists such as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison citing it as inspiration for their own writings.

17. What religion heavily influenced the Beat Generation writers?

From Quiz The Beat Generation

Answer: Buddhism

Jack Kerouac wrote about Buddhism in "Dharma Bums". Philip Whalen was a Zen Buddhist priest. Buddhism also heavily influenced Gary Synder. Many of the Beat Generation writers had a profound respect for nature and the teachings of Buddhism.

18. Who wrote '1001 Ways to Beat the Draft'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Tuli Kupferberg

19. What was the name of the auto-biographical series of books by Jack Kerouac?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: The Duluoz Legend

20. What was the name of the bookstore instrumental in publishing the works of the Beat poets, finding itself sued for obscenity in the process?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: City Lights

The bookstore, still going strong at the time of writing (2020) was established in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, himself a poet, and Peter D. Martin. Ginsberg read his poem 'Howl' at the Six Gallery, Ferlinghetti was there to hear it, and contacted Ginsberg asking to publish it. Ginsberg extended his original poem, added some more of his work and the book was published in 1955 as 'Howl and Other Poems', with William Carlos Williams providing an introduction. In 1957, copies of the book were seized and City Lights prosecuted for publishing obscene material due to its sexual content. The case was dismissed by the California State Superior Court which ruled that the work met the test of 'redeeming social importance'. Penguin won a similar case in the UK, brought in 1960, over the publication of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover', written by D H Lawrence in 1928 but not previously available in Britain without being heavily censored.

21. "On The Road", "Dharma Bums", and "Big Sur" were written by this Beat Generation writer.

From Quiz The Beat Generation

Answer: Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac was one of the primary voices of the Beat Generation. He was well-traveled and wrote about the experiences and relationships that ensued. Jack created his own style of writing and inspired many of the other Beat Generation writers.

22. What is the title of Burroughs' book of dreams?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: My Education

Book of Dreams is Jack Kerouac's dream journal, Old Angel Midnight is also by Kerouac, and Kentucky Ham is by Burroughs' son, William Burroughs Jr.

23. The lifestyle of the Beat generation did not lend itself to longevity, but some did reach old age. Which of them died at the age of 83 in 1997?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: Burroughs

Burroughs was the oldest member of the main group, the longest lived and the last (just) to die. He was born in February 1914 and died in August 1997. Ginsberg also died in 1997, in April, at the age of 70. Neal Cassady moved from the Beat poets to the 'Merry Pranksters', a group surrounding author Ken Kesey and part of the psychedelic era fuelled by LSD. He died in 1968 at the age of 41 having spent a cold night outdoors, with the cause of death unclear but possibly being at least partly due to exposure. Kerouac died in 1969, at the age of 47, from a haemorrhage attributed to cirrhosis caused by years of heavy drinking.

24. What Ginsberg poem contains the following: 'When will you take off your clothes? When will you look at yourself through the grave'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: America

25. According to the first line of Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' the best minds of his generation were destroyed by what?

From Quiz America's Beat Generation

Answer: Madness

If 'On the Road' is the best known novel of the Beat generation then 'Howl' is likely to be the poem most people will have heard of. 'Madness' is the word used by Ginsberg although the alcohol, drugs and promiscuous lifestyle would all have contributed to the madness. As in Kerouac's novel, the poem has numerous references to other members of the group and mentions incidents that happened in their lives. Other parts are inspired by hallucinations, in particular that of a monster seen by Ginsberg and named Moloch in the poem. The poem is dedicated to Carl Solomon, who is explicitly named in Part III, although Solomon himself has said that this part of the poem is 'garbled history'.

26. Which Beat wrote 'Smokey the Bear Sutra'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Gary Snyder

27. In Kerouac's 'The Dharma Bums,' which beat poet is represented by Alvah Goldbook?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Allen Ginsberg

28. Another question about the characters in 'The Dharma Bums:' which beat poet is represented by Japhy Ryder?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Gary Snyder

29. Many of Kerouac's novels feature references to his religion. What religion did he follow?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Buddhism

30. Which Beat wrote the novels 'Tritessa,' 'Pull My Daisy,' and 'Desolation Angels'?

From Quiz The Beat Generation...How Much do You Know?

Answer: Jack Kerouac

'Desolation Angels' has to be the best Kerouac book ever. On another note, Neal Cassady never actually published any books while living, but his autobiography was published posthumously.

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