Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (novel)
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| - | :''[[Beat Generation]], [[history of the "Beat Generation"]]'' | + | '''''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues''''' is a [[1976 in literature|1976]] novel by [[Tom Robbins]]. |
| + | ==Plot summary== | ||
| - | ===Influences on Western Culture=== | + | ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' tells the story of Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with a [[mutation]] (she would not call it a [[Congenital disorder|defect]]) giving her enormously large [[thumb]]s. The novel is a transgressive romp, covering topics from [[free love]] to [[drug use]] and political [[rebellion]] to [[animal rights]] and [[body odor]] and [[religions]]. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a [[hitchhiker]]. Her travels take her to New York, where she becomes a model for the Countess, a lesbian tycoon of feminine hygiene products, who introduces her to the man whom she will marry, a staid [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] named Julian Gitche. In her later travels she encounters, among many others, a sexually open [[cowgirl]] named Bonanza Jellybean and an itinerant escapee from the [[Japanese internment camp]]s happily mislabeled "the [[Chink]]." Robbins finally inserts himself into the novel as a character as well. |
| - | While many authors claim to be directly influenced by the beats, the Beat Generation phenomenon itself has had a huge influence on [[Western Culture]] more broadly. In many ways, the Beats can be taken as the first subculture (here meaning a cultural subdivision on lifestyle/political grounds, rather than on any obvious difference in ethnic or religious backgrounds). During the very conformist post-World War II era they were one of the forces engaged in a questioning of traditional values which produced a break with the mainstream culture that to this day people react to – or against. The Beats produced a great deal of interest in lifestyle experimentation (notably in regards to sex and drugs); and they had a large intellectual effect in encouraging the questioning of authority (a force behind the anti-war movement); and many of them were very active in popularizing interest in [[Zen Buddhism]] in the West. | + | |
| - | In [[Allen Ginsberg]]'s ''A Definition of the Beat Generation:'' he characterized some of the essential effects of Beat Generation artistic movement as including spiritual liberation, sexual "revolution" or "liberation,"(e.g., gay liberation, somewhat catalyzing women's liberation, black liberation, Gray Panther activism); liberation of the word from [[censorship]], and demystification and/or decriminalization of [[cannabis]] and other [[drugs]]. Ginsberg claimed that the Beat Generation began to view rock and roll as a high art form, as evidenced by [[the Beatles]], [[Bob Dylan]], and other popular musicians influenced in the later fifties and sixties by Beat generation poets' and writers' works. It also included the spread of ecological consciousness, emphasized early on by [[Gary Snyder]] and [[Michael McClure]], the notion of a "Fresh Planet" and opposition to the military-industrial machine civilization, as emphasized in writings of Burroughs, Huncke, Ginsberg, and Kerouac. There was increasing respect for land and indigenous peoples and creatures, as proclaimed by Kerouac in his slogan from ''On the Road:'' "The Earth is an Indian thing." As well, Beats paid more attention to what [[Kerouac]] called (after [[Oswald Spengler|Spengler]]) a "second religiousness" developing within an advanced civilization, and there was a return to an appreciation of idiosyncrasy as opposed to state regimentation. | + | ==Literary significance & criticism== |
| + | "Cowgirls" was a favorite of the late 1970s [[anarchist]] [[hippie]] [[counterculture]]. Robbins writes short chapters filled with philosophical asides and quips (such as noting that because amoebas reproduce by [[binary fission]], the first [[amoeba]] is still alive) and often speaking to the reader (chapter 88 begins with the narrator noting that the book now has as many chapters as a [[piano]] has [[Key (instrument)|key]]s). Informal but intricate, it's the model of a [[cult book]]. | ||
| - | ====Literary legacy==== | + | ==Film, TV or theatrical adaptations== |
| - | Many novelists who emerged in the 1960s and 70s, many labeled [[postmodern literature|postmodernists]], were closely connected with older Beats and considered latter day Beats themselves, most notably [[Ken Kesey]] (''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'') and [[Terry Southern]] (''[[Dr. Strangelove]].'') Other postmodern novelists, [[Thomas Pynchon]] (''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'') and [[Tom Robbins]] (''[[Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (novel)|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues]]'') for example, considered the Beats to be major influences though they had no direct connection. [[William S. Burroughs]] is considered by some a forefather of postmodern literature; he inspired many later postmodernists and novelists in the [[cyberpunk]] genre. Inspired by the Beat Generation's focus on free speech and egalitarianism, [[Amiri Baraka]] went on to found the [[Black Arts]] movement which focused more specifically on issues in the African American community. Other notable writers associated with this movement include [[Gwendolyn Brooks]], [[Maya Angelou]], and [[Nikki Giovanni]]. | + | The novel was made into a [[1993 in film|1993]] film directed by [[Gus Van Sant]] and starring [[Uma Thurman]], [[Lorraine Bracco]], [[Pat Morita]], [[Angie Dickinson]], [[Keanu Reeves]], [[John Hurt]], [[Rain Phoenix]], [[Ed Begley, Jr.]], [[Carol Kane]], [[Victoria Williams]], [[Sean Young]], [[Crispin Glover]], [[Roseanne Barr|Roseanne Arnold]], [[Buck Henry]], [[Grace Zabriskie]], and [[Treva Jeffryes]]. Tom Robbins himself was the narrator. |
| - | Since there was such a heavy focus on live performance among the Beats, many [[poetry slam|Slam]] poets have been influenced by the Beats. [[Saul Williams]], for example, cites [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Amiri Baraka]], and [[Bob Kaufman]] as major influences. | + | In 2008, Seattle's Book-it Repertory Theatre adapted the novel for the stage. |
| + | ==Influencees== | ||
| + | * [[John Cale]], formerly of the Velvet Underground, named a song and album after the novel. | ||
| + | * The band [[Nightmare of You]] based the song "Thumbelina" on the book. | ||
| + | * The band [[The Gaslight Anthem]] titled a song on their album "The '59 Sound" after the novel | ||
| - | The [[Postbeat Poets]] are a direct out-growth of the Beat Generation. Their association with or tutelage under Ginsberg at The Naropa University's [[Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics]] and later at [[Brooklyn College]] not only carried on the activist social justice legacy of the Beats, but also created its own body of experimental and culturally-influencing literature by [[Anne Waldman]], [[Antler (poet)]], Andy Clausen, David Cope, [[Eileen Myles]], Eliot Katz, [[Paul Beatty]], [[Sapphire (author)]], [[Lesléa Newman]], [[Jim Cohn]], Sharon Mesmer, Randy Roark and others. | + | == Partial publication history == |
| - | + | ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' was first published in 1976 by Houghton Mifflin. It was released as both a [[hardcover]] and [[paperback]] novel concurrently. | |
| - | ====Rock and roll connections==== | + | * First hardcover edition: ISBN 0-395-24305-X, Houghton Mifflin, 1976. |
| - | The Beats had a large influence on [[rock and roll]] including major figures such as [[the Beatles]], [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Jim Morrison]]. The image of the rebellious rock star is in many ways analogous to the Beat images such as Dean Moriarty in ''On the Road.'' The Beatles spelled their name with an "a" because [[John Lennon]] was a fan of Kerouac. Ginsberg later met and became friends with members of the Beatles. Paul McCartney played guitar on Ginsberg's album ''Ballad of the Skeletons.'' Ginsberg was close friends with Bob Dylan and toured with him on the [[Rolling Thunder Revue]] in 1975. Dylan cites Ginsberg and Kerouac as major influences. Jim Morrison cites Kerouac as one of his biggest influences. He also studied poetry briefly with [[Jack Hirschman]]. [[Michael McClure]] was also friends with members of [[The Doors]], at one point touring with keyboardist [[Ray Manzarek]]. Ginsberg was friends with, and Cassady was a member of, Ken Kesey's [[Merry Pranksters]], a group that also included members of the [[Grateful Dead]]. In the 1970s, Burroughs was friends with [[Mick Jagger]], [[Lou Reed]], and [[Patti Smith]]. Singer-songwriter [[Tom Waits]], a Beat fan, wrote "Jack and Neal" about Kerouac and Cassady, and recorded "On the Road" (a song written by Kerouac after finishing the novel) with [[Primus (band)|Primus]]. He also wrote the dark, ominous music for Burroughs' theatrical work ''[[The Black Rider]]''. | + | * First paperback edition: ISBN 0-395-24510-9, Houghton Mifflin, 1976. |
| - | + | ||
| - | Ginsberg has worked with [[The Clash]]. Burroughs worked with [[Sonic Youth]], [[R.E.M. (band)|R.E.M.]], [[Kurt Cobain]], and [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]], amongst others. [[Bono]] of [[U2]] cites Burroughs as a major influence, and Burroughs appeared briefly in a U2 video. [[Experimental music]]ian and [[performance art]]ist [[Laurie Anderson]] featured Burroughs on her 1984 album ''[[Mister Heartbreak]]'' and in her 1986 concert film, ''[[Home of the Brave (1986 film)|Home of the Brave]].'' The British [[progressive rock]] band [[Soft Machine]] is named after Burroughs' ''[[The Soft Machine]].'' The Beats are referenced in songs by artists such as: [[The Beastie Boys]], [[Rage Against the Machine]], [[10,000 Maniacs]], [[They Might Be Giants]], [[Van Morrison]], [[The Clean]], [[Ani Difranco]], [[Bad Religion]], and [[King Crimson]]. | + | |
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Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1976 novel by Tom Robbins.
Contents |
[edit]
Plot summary
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues tells the story of Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with a mutation (she would not call it a defect) giving her enormously large thumbs. The novel is a transgressive romp, covering topics from free love to drug use and political rebellion to animal rights and body odor and religions. Sissy makes the most of her thumbs by becoming a hitchhiker. Her travels take her to New York, where she becomes a model for the Countess, a lesbian tycoon of feminine hygiene products, who introduces her to the man whom she will marry, a staid Mohawk named Julian Gitche. In her later travels she encounters, among many others, a sexually open cowgirl named Bonanza Jellybean and an itinerant escapee from the Japanese internment camps happily mislabeled "the Chink." Robbins finally inserts himself into the novel as a character as well.
[edit]
Literary significance & criticism
"Cowgirls" was a favorite of the late 1970s anarchist hippie counterculture. Robbins writes short chapters filled with philosophical asides and quips (such as noting that because amoebas reproduce by binary fission, the first amoeba is still alive) and often speaking to the reader (chapter 88 begins with the narrator noting that the book now has as many chapters as a piano has keys). Informal but intricate, it's the model of a cult book.
[edit]
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was made into a 1993 film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, Ed Begley, Jr., Carol Kane, Victoria Williams, Sean Young, Crispin Glover, Roseanne Arnold, Buck Henry, Grace Zabriskie, and Treva Jeffryes. Tom Robbins himself was the narrator.
In 2008, Seattle's Book-it Repertory Theatre adapted the novel for the stage.
[edit]
Influencees
- John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground, named a song and album after the novel.
- The band Nightmare of You based the song "Thumbelina" on the book.
- The band The Gaslight Anthem titled a song on their album "The '59 Sound" after the novel
[edit]
Partial publication history
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was first published in 1976 by Houghton Mifflin. It was released as both a hardcover and paperback novel concurrently.
- First hardcover edition: ISBN 0-395-24305-X, Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
- First paperback edition: ISBN 0-395-24510-9, Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
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