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to say that Beats are not relevant in 2010 is just absurd. Most of the narratives are about youth coming of age, friendship, sexuality and experimentation. That's going to be relevant for an awful long time, at least as long as we continue to churn out "youth".
And as for writing quality, there are some passages in NL, Soft Machine, Wild Boys, etc. that are very well written, touching and hilarious. I don't read WSB nearly as much as I used to, but when I do, it's all still there. Last Words of Dutch Schultz, Yage Letters and Roosevelt after Inauguration are all quite good. Soft Machine and NL are modern classics, in the same stature as the best of world lit.
Ligotti is a decent horror writer. I don't find him very entertaining, but then horror isn't really my thing...
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