I a poet too: An Intersectional Approach to the Work of Neal Cassady
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2016-12-22
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en
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This thesis examines the work of Neal Cassady from an intersectional perspective. It first addresses several issues with regards to the critical reception that already exists of Cassady’s work, most notably the prevalence of fictionalizations by other authors and the absence of research directed solely at Neal Cassady’s own work. This thesis then sets out to examine Cassady’s work by looking at the various components that have shaped his author identity, such as gender, class, and sexuality – thus establishing a firm ground on which to investigate the historical circumstances that have shaped his work. It concludes by demonstrating that Cassady’s lower class background has had tremendous effects both on his writing life and on his conceptions of gender and sexuality, and that these latter two, in turn, have influenced his experience of class. As a result of this research, common criticisms directed at fictionalizations of the Cassady figure can be reframed in order to better fit the historical circumstances that shaped Cassady’s life, which leads to a more articulate understanding of the workings of gender, class, and sexuality in Beat literature.
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Faculteit der Letteren