Beat Generation Influence On American Culture

The term “beat generation” was coined by John Clellon Holmes in his 1948 article, to describe an artistic movement in the mid twentieth century. This movement began as a group of Columbia students in the 40s who wanted to be different and experimented in ways to express their difference. They migrated to San Francisco and grew in size to become a huge influence on American culture, inspiring new art and poetry, a music genre, and two sub-cultures. The Beat Generation, through their determination to not conform to bleak post-World War II societal norms, changed the nature of creative expression, as well as influenced American Culture particularly in the San Francisco area.
World War II sparked a mass fear of Communism: the second Red Scare, a massive witch hunt in which anyone who was different was accused of being a communist. This caused people to want to conform (Chastain). However, this
(Chastain) Allen Ginsberg, who later wrote the controversial poem Howl, later became hugely politically active especially as a protester of the Vietnam War, gay rights, relaxation of censorship, and the legalization of drugs. (Asher). Jack Kerouac went on to write the hugely influential book On the Road, which about his adventures across America. (Asher). William S Burroughs became known for his affinity for drugs, and the book Naked Lunch which was kept from publication until 1962 for obscenity reasons. (Asher). Lucien Carr introduced the other three, but, after killing his gay stalker, David Kemmer, ceased contact with the others. They found a new friend, a “street cowboy” from Denver named Neal Cassady, who became a very important member of the Beat Generation, being mentioned in many famous Beat works, and later becoming the driver of Ken Kesey’s famous psychedelic bus