Jane B's answer

I used Literary Reference Centre to find the information.

It provides full text information on authors and their works and includes plot summaries, critical essays, reviews, poems and author biographies.

I entered “Beat Generation” into the search box and from the results clicked on the Biographies tab. From the list I could add the results – for Anne Waldman, Carolyn Cassady, Bonnie Bremser and Joanna McClure – to a folder and email them all to the enquirer.

This search took less than 2 minutes.

Literary Reference Centre is available to anyone with a Mosman Library card.

Ken D's answer

Initially did a general search with the words “beat” and “generation”. First result was a Wikipedia article on the Beat Generation.

Scrolling down there is an entry for Women of the Beat Generation. This confirms that yes there were women writers that were members of the Beat Generation. Biographical information of about 10 of these women are included as links within Wikipedia as well.

I then did another search to include the words “beat” “generation” and “women”. An entry emerged which gives an overview of a book called Women of the Beat Generation that profiles 40 women writers, naming many of them.

Next port of call was Google Book Search. Here I entered the name of the book I discovered in the previous search, which brings up Women of the Beat Generation. And yes, before you howl me down, I do realise it is a limited view, but it does include names of several women of the Beat Generation and biographical information.

Once we have a list of these women, an obvious next search is for their names. For example “Hettie Jones” delivers many relevant results, one of which contains biographical information.

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