Just Beat It

When I was 16, I purchased a 3-CD box set of readings from the Beat Generation. I was already a fan of Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg, the whole crew. In the back of the box set, a booklet was included. Inside the booklet, the authors listed vintage books that were in the category of "beat exploitation" (i.e. pulpish vintage paperbacks that sensationalized the beat movement to make some quick money off it). Seeing just a few sample pics, I had to see more. I went onto eBay and perused the vintage paperbacks for beat exploitation titles. I was obsessed. I loved the idea of amassing a collection of this genre. It seemed the perfect supplement to my interest in Beat writing. Later on, this interest in Beat paperbacks led me to collect vintage paperbacks generally. Vintage paperbacks led me to vintage movie posters and to vintage men's magazines and to vintage detective magazines. I could go on and on. So, what I'm sharing in this post are a few of my favorite Beat exploitation movie posters. Enjoy the weird "way-out" world of beatnik strippers in their jungles of "strange kicks"! But most of all, enjoy the kooky Kerouac lookalike, and wonder why they made him so violent? Beats me. I guess a little hair pulling was good for business.