Countering the Counterculture : Rereading Postwar American Dissent From Jack Kerouac to Tomás Rivera

Rebelling against bourgeois vacuity and taking their countercultural critique on the road, the Beat writers and artists have long symbolized a spirit of freedom and radical democracy. Manuel Martinez offers an eye-opening challenge to this characterization of the Beats, juxtaposing them against Chicano nationalists like Raul Salinas, Jose Montoya, Luis Valdez, and Oscar Acosta and Mexican migrant writers in the United States, like Tomas Rivera and Ernesto Galarza. In an innovative rereading of American radical politics and culture of the 1950s and 1960s, Martinez uncovers reactionary, neoromantic, and sometimes racist strains in the Beats’ vision of freedom, and he brings to the fore the complex stances of Latinos on participant democracy and progressive culture. He analyzes the ways that Beats, Chicanos, and migrant writers conceived of and articulated social and political perspectives. He contends that both the Beats’ extreme individualism and the Chicano nationalists’ narrow vision of citizenship are betrayals of the democratic ideal, but that the migrant writers presented a distinctly radical and inclusive vision of democracy that was truly countercultural. In An Innovative Rereading Of American Radical Politics And Culture Of The 1950s And 1960s, Martinez Uncovers Reactionary, Neoromantic, And Sometimes Racist Strains In The Beats' Vision Of Freedom, And He Brings To The Fore The Complex Stances Of Latinos On Participant Democracy And Progressive Culture. He Analyzes The Ways The Beats, Chicanos, And Migrant Writers Conceived Of And Articulated Social And Political Perspectives. He Contends That Both The Beats' Extreme Individualism And The Chicano Nationalists' Narrow Vision Of Citizenship Are Betrayals Of The Democratic Ideal, But That The Migrant Writers Presented A Distinctly Radical And Inclusive Vision Of Democracy That Was Truly Countercultural.--jacket. The Roots Of Postwar Dissent And The Counterculture -- No Fear Like Invasion: Movement Absorption, And Stasis Horror In The Beat Vision -- With Imperious Eye: Kerouac's Fellaheen Western -- Civitas And Its Discontents: The Lone Hunter Pleads The Fourth -- The Americano Narrative: Postwar Mexican American Dissent And Community -- Historian With A Sour Stomach: Zeta's Americano Journey -- Mapping El Movimiento: Somewhere Between América And Aztlan -- Arriving At El Pueblo Libre: The Insistence Of Americanismo. Manuel Luis Martinez. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 335-348) And Index. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction: Dissent and the American Culture of Mobility......Page 14 Part 1. The Roots of Postwar Dissent and the Counterculture......Page 32 1. “No Fear Like Invasion”: Movement, Absorption, and Stasis Horror in the Beat Vision......Page 34 2. “With Imperious Eye”: Kerouac’s Fellaheen Western......Page 84 3. Civitas and Its Discontents: The Lone Hunter Pleads the Fourth......Page 129 Part 2. The Americano Narrative: Postwar Mexican American Dissent and Community......Page 158 4. Historian with a Sour Stomach: Zeta’s Americano Journey......Page 160 5. Mapping el Movimiento: Somewhere between América and Aztlan......Page 192 6. Arriving at el Pueblo Libre: The Insistence of Americanismo......Page 281 Notes......Page 330 Bibliography......Page 346 Index......Page 360