The Beat Generation (Rough Draft)
The Beat Generation was an important and influential period of history. William Burroughs, one of the main Beats, is considered the father of post-modern literature. Jack Kerouac invented the phrase “Beat Generation” in 1948. It not only refers to the generation that was raised during WWII being “beat down,” and to “upbeat” and “beatitude.” Though the main Beats later worked together in San Francisco during the San Francisco Renaissance, an avante-garde literary movement in the 50’s and early 40’s, the first Beats met in New York. Among the dozens of beats are three main writers: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs; Kerouac was known as the “King of the Beats” (xiii Lawlor).
The Beats were characterized by a rejection of societal norms and embracing drug use. They wanted to live in the moment. They were the avant-garde of American Literature in the 1950’s and 60’s; they considered themselves outcasts and “hipsters”. Their writing was filled with obscenity. Ginsburg, for his poem “Howl” and Burroughs for his book “Naked Lunch” were accused of obscenity, and taken to court, but both works were found to have redeeming value, and the two poets were acquitted, contributing to a reduction of censorship in America. Many of the Beats were gay or bisexual, and wrote about homosexuality. The Beats enjoyed being naked, symbolically exposing the soul. Ginsburg used to say, “The poet stands naked before the world,” and would frequently unclothe himself at poetry readings.
Many of the Beats disapproved of the “beatnik” culture that arose in the late 50’s, considering them “posers”. Kerouac, for example, believed that the beatniks were ignoring the spiritual message of the movement.
Works Cited
Mortenson, Erik. Capturing the Beat Moment. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970. Print.
Lawlor, William. Beat Culture lifestyles, icons, and impact. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print.
Tytell, John. Naked Angels the lives and literature of the Beat Generation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. Print.
Lawlor, William. Beat Culture lifestyles, icons, and impact. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print.
Tytell, John. Naked Angels the lives and literature of the Beat Generation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. Print.
written by Rehan Quraishi