2007 Beat Museum on Wheels Tour

Outreach Program for Colleges

The Beat Museum on Wheels is a literary outreach program designed to bring the story of the Beat Generation to High Schools and Colleges. We do this by providing an interactive, multimedia experience for students to learn about the history, spirit and culural influence of the group of writers known as the Beat Generation.

What does this program offer?

-A literary perspective as to the meaning and development of Bop Spontaneous Prose. -A historical perspective of the times that includes the Cold War and the Arms Race between the United States and Communist Russia and China. -Promotion of the Beat themes of Tolerance, Inclusiveness and Compassion. -Encouragement for young people to pursue their passions and their dreams.

How do you do this?

The Beat Museum on Wheels will typically arrive the night before an event to set up in the parking lot of the school for the next day. This will allow the students an opportunity to peruse the exhibits that travel with us. During the course of the day the students will have the opportunity to learn from the exhibits, make purchases out of the bookstore portion of the Beatmobile and attend our multimedia show that is designed to be both educational and entertaining.

What's involved in the multimedia show?

In order to keep the attention of today’s young person we use a multimedia approach including: Video, Readings, Slideshow, Storytelling, Live Poetry Reading, First Hand Accounts, Historical Perspectives. This event can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending upon your needs.

The music, imagery and stories conveyed in this program celebrate life in the spirit of the Beats – “Know your Truth. Speak your Truth. Live your Truth.”

Topic Areas Include:

1. Who influenced the Beats? Who were the members of the Beat Generation? 2. What was the relationship between the Beats and the Russian satellite Sputnik? 3. Where did the term Beat come from? Where did the Beats live during this time? 4. When did all this take place? Why were the Jazz musicians so important? 5. How did the Beat Generation affect today’s student’s parents and grandparents? 6. How did the Hippie movement grow out of the Beat movement? 7. Why were the Beats such important cultural influences & who did they influence?

Additional Information:

There is some mention of sexuality and drug use in this program as these were thematic to the personal stories of the participants. For example, Allen Ginsberg was a Gay Activist before there was a term “Gay” or “Activist”. We are always conscious of the ages of our audineces and the appropriateness of the message. And we’re mindful to insure the story of the Beats is seen in all its complexities and from all perspectives.

Too many people, especially young people, see the lives of the Beats as carefree and spontaneous and they sometimes want to emulate those lives. They forget about, or perhaps they’re unaware of, the alcohol addictions, the drug addictions, the dysfunctional relationships and the untimely early deaths. We attempt to demystify that allure and redirect the focus to the spirit of the intentions.

We’re here to present a complete picture which includes many cautionary tales.

And we’re here to celebrate the spirit of The Beats.

Schedule for 2007

West Coast Tour - Early Autumn
We'd like to hit the following cities. Email us if you'd like to host the Beat Mobile in your city.
San Diego, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
San Luis Obispo, CA
Sacramento, CA
SF Bay Area, CA
Arcata/Humboldt, CA
Ashland, OR
Coos Bay, OR
Eugene, OR
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA

Please see our Letters of Recommendation here.

If you would like to schedule an event with The Beat Museum on Wheels, please Email Jerry with the potential dates and the name of your organization. His email is thebeatmobile@yahoo.com or call 1-800-KER-OUAC