When I Was Cool

When I Was Cool captures Sam Kashner's experience as the first student at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in the 1970s. The school, founded by Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, drew Kashner in as a teenager seeking escape from his Long Island existence. The memoir documents Kashner's interactions with legendary Beat figures who served as his teachers, including Ginsberg, Waldman, William S. Burroughs, and Gregory Corso. These aging icons of 1950s counterculture became Kashner's mentors, involving him in their poetry, parties, and personal struggles. Through his unique position as both student and witness, Kashner presents an intimate portrait of these literary figures in their later years. His account includes previously unknown poems, conversations about American literature, and the day-to-day reality of life among his unconventional faculty. The book examines themes of disillusionment, coming-of-age, and the gap between youthful idealization and reality. It raises questions about mentorship and the price of belonging to a legendary artistic movement.

Readers found this memoir of studying at Naropa Institute and encountering Beat Generation figures to be humorous but uneven. Many noted Kashner captured an awkward coming-of-age story during a unique cultural moment. Readers appreciated: - Self-deprecating humor - First-hand accounts of Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs - Details about the early days of Naropa's writing program - Honest portrayal of disillusionment Common criticisms: - Meandering narrative structure - Too much focus on personal relationships vs. Beat figures - Writing style can be pretentious - Some scenes feel exaggerated or embellished Ratings: Goodreads: 3.6/5 (300+ ratings) Amazon: 3.8/5 (40+ reviews) "Funny but scattered" notes one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads reader comments: "Great potential but gets lost in tangents." Several reviews mention the book works better as a coming-of-age story than as a Beat Generation history.

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⚡ The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics was founded in 1974 as part of Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado - the first accredited Buddhist-inspired university in North America. ⚡ Allen Ginsberg, who taught at the school, would often lead meditation sessions before his poetry classes, blending Buddhist practices with literary instruction. ⚡ William S. Burroughs taught a class called "Creative Reading" where he shared his cut-up technique, which involved literally cutting up texts and rearranging them to create new works. ⚡ Sam Kashner went on to become a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and has written several other books, including "Sinatraland" and "Life Isn't Everything: Mike Nichols, as Remembered by 150 of His Closest Friends." ⚡ The title "When I Was Cool" is a playful reference to the fact that Kashner was often tasked with getting cigarettes for his famous mentors and helping them with mundane tasks, despite the seemingly glamorous nature of studying under Beat Generation legends.