Free (Kindle) Crowded by Beauty: Philip Whalen [1950s Buddhist Beat Poet Biography]

[ATDrake]

Crowded by Beauty: The Life and Zen of Poet Philip Whalen by David Schneider, himself a Zen Buddhist priest and apparently not any of the 8 namesakes listed on Wikipedia, is his biographical delving into the life and times and works and faith of titular Portland-born San Francisco-resident Beat Generation poet turned Zen monk (Wikipedia, obituary at SF Gate) who was a contemporary and acquaintance of Jack Kerouac (Wikipedia, and was Tuckerized into one of the latter's novels), drawing upon journals and correspondence to flesh out Whalen's connections with his peers and his spiritual beliefs, free courtesy of the University of California Press.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and seems to also be free in most of the worldwide regional Amazon stores as well, minus the US where it's glitchily gone back up).

ETA: Also free @ eBooks.com (ADE-DRM ePub & PDF probably available worldwide, but definitely in Canada).

ETA 2: Now also free @ B&N (also UK).

If you happen to be interested in finding out more about Whalen and his works on a less Zen level, here's a nifty round-up of handy links and resources over at Empty Mirror Literary & Arts Magazine's website and some online-listenable mp3 audio recordings of his poetry readings from the 60s and 70s in Vancouver and elsewhere over at the University of Pennsylvania.

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because actual academic (or at least dedicated-amateur-scholarly) book on a rather influential-looking modern-historical-culture-shaping artistically prominent figure drawing on primary source materials to examine the underlying influences on his work which in turn influenced others is like some sort of inception hat trick of win and awesome.

Which reminds me that one of these days I should dig out that rather nifty francophone Jack Kerouac freebie to post when I've got a free slot.

Enjoy!

Description
Philip Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and key figure in the literary and artistic scene that unfolded in San Francisco in the 1950s and ’60s. When the Beat writers came West, Whalen became a revered, much-loved member of the group. Erudite, shy, and profoundly spiritual, his presence not only moved his immediate circle of Beat cohorts, but his powerful, startling, innovative work would come to impact American poetry to the present day.

Drawing on Whalen’s journals and personal correspondence—particularly with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Kyger, Welch, and McClure —David Schneider shows how deeply bonded these intimates were, supporting one another in their art and their spiritual paths. Schneider, himself an ordained priest, provides an insider’s view of Whalen’s struggles and breakthroughs in his thirty years as a Zen monk. When Whalen died in 2002 as the retired Abbot of the Hartford Street Zen Center, his own teacher referred to him as a patriarch of the Western lineage of Buddhism.

Crowded by Beauty chronicles the course of Whalen’s life, focusing on his unique, eccentric, humorous, and literary-religious practice.

[TrevorViking]

That was quick.

[ATDrake]

Weirdly, it seems to currently be free internationally at every single Amazon regional store I've spot-checked, including Australia, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, France, the Netherlands, etc. (except China, where it doesn't seem to exist), except for the US (where it was free for a while earlier). I guess it's just one of those glitches which sometimes happen when a book that's meant to be a multi-store multi-country promo just doesn't co-operate at Amazon for whatever reason (this usually happens with Open Road freebies at Amazon CA).

Unfortunately, this doesn't even exist in any of the other retailers thus far (at least not ones that I can easily look up from a Canadian perspective), so you can't do the Report A Lower Price thing although it might possibly drop back again later since it seems to be intended to be a worldwide promo (unless this is just a sudden expiry that went through in the US first and international Gentle Readers (or those considering pretending to be) should grab it while it lasts)?

[koland]

It was free in the US about two weeks ago, or so.

[ATDrake]

Turns out it's being (kind of) matched against the official price of $0.00 directly @ the publisher's webcatalogue page, where it's supposed to be free in both ADE-DRM ePub & PDF in US & Canada, which according to the University of California Press website are the only two countries they officially direct-sell their ebooks to.

Unfortunately, no working Add to Cart button, but if you neglect to mention that last bit, maybe some of our more enterprising US members would care to Report A Lower Price?

Or maybe it'll just eventually show up in other outlets and still be free then.

ETA: Oh hey, here we go: also free @ eBooks.com (ADE-DRM ePub & PDF available to Canadians, at least). Editing into the OP.

[koland]

Thanks for the ebooks link - I seldom check there, since they so rarely participate in free book pricing promos.

Reported both to Amazon, in case it helps those who missed it earlier.

[ATDrake]

I didn't even have an eBooks.com account until 15 minutes ago. Never had a reason to try for stuff with them before. I should poke around and see what else may be lurking on the site, if they price-match academic freebies.

Thanks for doing the Report A Lower Price. Hopefully it goes through, but for now it's nice to have a backup freebie-getting option for the US people and also know it's definitely an official freebie promo that people will be able to enjoy for a while longer now.

[ATDrake]

Now also become available (and free) @ B&N (also UK). Linkage edited into OP.