Evidence Record

Evidence summary

Ginsberg's long anaphoric catalogue builds collective witness; Kerouac's prose manifesto prioritizes associative drafting and rhythmic momentum; Ferlinghetti's street-level observer uses spacing, humor, and civic collage. These are related historically but functionally distinct.

Claim and interpretation

Contradicts a single “Beat style.” Supports three bounded patterns: anaphoric witness, generative spontaneity, and mobile civic observation.

Provenance and limits

Primary works and Poetry Foundation contextual sources were inspected. Works remain copyrighted; no extended text is reproduced. Performance, publication history, obscenity litigation, collaboration, gender, race, and appropriation require deeper specialist study.

Counterevidence

Ferlinghetti rejected the fixed Beat label; “spontaneity” can underdescribe revision and craft; Ginsberg's catalogue is highly structured.