Special Issue-The Beats: Wilderness and Wildness
This special issue of the Polish Journal for American Studies is devoted to eco-critical readings of the Beats. It examines the extent to which Beat aesthetics retains its relevance in the Anthropocene by situating it alongside contemporary eco-narratives that center on the pressing immediacy of the current biodiversity crisis. At the same time, it engages historically with Beat creativity in relation to the Romantics and Transcendentalists. The articles in this volume are organized first to highlight the advantages of approaching Beat literature through the lens of blue ecocriticism, thereby opening new pathways for green readings of the Beats. They then explore the dialogic potential of Beat writers in conversation with both historical and contemporary counterparts—literary and otherwise—who grapple with environmental and countercultural concerns.
