The essays and shorter pieces in this collection treat writers of the Beat Generation, together with certain of their allies and ancestors. Authors whose works are considered include Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Bob Kaufman, as well as Fitz Hugh Ludlow, James S. Lee and Ken Nordine. A theme seen implicitly to be linking these authors is their common yearning for utopian harmony and mystical transcendence, a desire that drives their vocation as pilgrims to elsewhere.

The essays and shorter pieces in this collection treat writers of the Beat Generation, together with certain of their allies and ancestors. Authors whose works are considered include Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Bob Kaufman, as well as Fitz Hugh Ludlow, James S. Lee and Ken Nordine. A theme seen implicitly to be linking these authors is their common yearning for utopian harmony and mystical transcendence, a desire that drives their vocation as pilgrims to elsewhere.