681 Lexington Avenue: A Beat Education in New York City 1947

681 Lexington Avenue
A Beat Education in New York City 1947–1954
Elizabeth Von Vogt

Liz Von Vogt's 681 Lexington is a captivating insider's account of life in the inner circle of the Beats in 1947-1954 when Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Lucien Carr and many others often partied downstairs at her brother John Clellon Holmes' apartment in midtown Manhattan. In this fascinating memoir she captures the spirit of the moment during which in the course of one long, lively, inspired conversation at 681, John and Jack invented the term "Beat Generation."—Ann Charters

Von Vogt reaches back to the key days of the Beat Generation with a keen memory and fine attention to the atmosphere of the era; she captures the mood . . . —Kevin Ring, Editor, Beat Scene Magazine

I really dug it.—Jay Landesman

A memoir by a sister of John Clellon Holmes!
Meet Clellon Holmes, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and many of the other Beats for the first time all over again. Von Vogt comes of age in this eccentric and renowned group of characters in post-World War II New York City. Written in an authentic, jazz-inspired style, 681 convincingly takes you back in time to show you private moments with the Beats never before disclosed. And you thought you'd read it all.

Orders now being accepted.

$16.95

ISBN 9781590983010

Photo insert inside!

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***Read the introduction to Elizabeth von Vogt's 681 Lexington Avenue: A Beat Education in New York City—1947-1954 .

681 Lexington Avenue is a coming-of-age memoir written by a sister of John Clellon Holmes, author of the first Beat novel, Go. In the course of narrating her experiences with many of the now iconoclastic Beat figures, Elizabeth Von Vogt creates a gritty and poignant narrative of a teenage girl maturing in post-World War II New York City. Introduced from the perspective of Von Vogt when she was fourteen years old, the memoir presents mature reflections on the burgeoning jazz scene, cross-racial efforts to reconfigure race boundaries, the presence of WWII veterans, the dangers of alcoholism, and the deep and abiding value of family relationships. Perhaps more than anything else 681 Lexington Avenue is a riveting testimony to the power of New York City to inspire and sustain the imagination.