The Beat Generation
America in the 50s
Reappraisal of the conventional structures of society
Questioning the rampant materialism
Seeing runaway capitalism as destructive to the human spirit and antithetical to social equality
Dissatisfaction with consumer culture
Railing against the stifling prudery of their parents’ generation
Open discussion of sexuality and other taboo topics
Criticized for being anti-intellectual and unrefined, they were well-educated (both Ginsberg and Kerouac studied at Columbia University)
Politicians such as Joseph McCarthy identified elements of Beat ideology as Communist and a threat to the nation’s security
Major Writers of the Beat Generation
Ginsberg, Allen (1926-1997)
Kerouac, Jack (1922-1969)
Burroughs, William S. (1914-1997)
Corso, Gregory (1930-2001)
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence (1919-)
Cassady, Neal (1926-1968)
Solomon, Carl (1928-1993)
Holmes, John Clellon (1926-1988)
Johnson, Joyce (1935-)
Kesey, Ken (1935-2001)
Brautigan, Richard (1935-1984)
Snyder, Gary (1930
Reappraisal of the conventional structures of society
Questioning the rampant materialism
Seeing runaway capitalism as destructive to the human spirit and antithetical to social equality
Dissatisfaction with consumer culture
Railing against the stifling prudery of their parents’ generation
Open discussion of sexuality and other taboo topics
Criticized for being anti-intellectual and unrefined, they were well-educated (both Ginsberg and Kerouac studied at Columbia University)
Politicians such as Joseph McCarthy identified elements of Beat ideology as Communist and a threat to the nation’s security
Major Writers of the Beat Generation
Ginsberg, Allen (1926-1997)
Kerouac, Jack (1922-1969)
Burroughs, William S. (1914-1997)
Corso, Gregory (1930-2001)
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence (1919-)
Cassady, Neal (1926-1968)
Solomon, Carl (1928-1993)
Holmes, John Clellon (1926-1988)
Johnson, Joyce (1935-)
Kesey, Ken (1935-2001)
Brautigan, Richard (1935-1984)
Snyder, Gary (1930