I See by My Outfit

Peter S. Beagle

Viking Press, 1965 - Transportation - 249 pages

In 1964, Peter Beagle and his lifelong friend Phil left their home in the Bronx to travel across the country to San Francisco – on scooters. The two young men are liberals in search of guitars and with a keen eye for American people. Along the way they entertain a pawnshop full of people who admire their talents as Jews. They meet a down-on-her-luck prostitute (maybe) in the glitter of Las Vegas. They stop at the home of the philosophical parents of an acquaintance. They travel through rain and snow and wind and heat. The scooters themselves have personalities and suffer breakdowns and miraculous repairs. And yes, their theme song is the Smothers Brothers comic rewrite of “Laredo.”

Contents

• Section 1: 3
• Section 2: 21
• Section 3: 40

About the author

Peter S. Beagle was born in Manhattan in April of 1939. During his senior year of high school, Beagle entered a poem and a short story in the 1955 Scholastic Writing Awards Contest, not knowing that the Grand Prize was a college education. He won that prize and went on to spend four years at the University of Pittsburgh after graduating from high school in 1955. In his sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh, Beagle entered another contest, winning first place again in Seventeen Magazine's Short Story Contest. At the age of 19, he published "A Fine and Private Place." Beagle graduated college with a degree in Creative Writing and a Spanish minor and then spent a year overseas. When he returned, his new-found agent had enrolled him in a writing workshop at Stanford. After his first few published stories, Beagle supported himself and his family as a freelancer for many years. In the 70's he began to write screenplays, as well as take up the hobby of singing folk songs at a local club. Beagle has published music as well as books, both his passions, and both lucrative. Beagle gives lectures and readings at universities, and also hosts writing workshops at schools such as the University of Washington and Clarion West. His works have been translated into 15 languages. Beagle has also written a script for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the screenplay for the animated feature version of The Lord of the Rings. In 1987, Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" was proclaimed the Number 5 All Time Fantasy Novel. That same year, "The Innkeeper's Song" won the Mythopoetic Fantasy Award. In 1997, "The Unicorn Sonata" won the Locus Poll Award for Best Novella, and in 1998, "Giant Bones" won the same award as well as being nominated for the 1998 World Fantasy Award.

Bibliographic information

• Title: I See by My Outfit; Penguin travel library
• Author: Peter S. Beagle
• Publisher: Viking Press, 1965
• ISBN: 0670391050, 9780670391059
• Length: 249 pages
• Subjects: Transportation / Motorcycles / General; Travel / Essays & Travelogues; Travel / General; Travel / United States / General