The Beat Generation

The “beat movement” is a literary period born out of World War II. This movement in American Literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Characterized by personal alienation and contempt for convention, the movement celebrated stylistic freedom and spontaneity. The Beat writers created a new vision of modern life and altered the nature of awareness in America.

The Beat Generation was one of the first groups of writers to break down the barriers of traditional literature and set a precedent for future writers with their writing style, their way of life, and by the messages they portrayed. They were the kids dressed in black, hanging out at coffee shops, reading their latest poetry. They protested wars, were drug users, and openly expressed homosexuality, as they expressed every aspect of their life candidly. But, the Beats are best known for their writing style. It was unique for that time to cast aside conventional structures of sentences and poetry. They used dashes instead of commas and periods; to write the way a person hears speech. Their poetry had a style of it’s own, unknown to any other groups of poets at the time; no rhyming, no structure, and non-conforming beauty.

The Beat writers formed in New York City, started with only a few members, but grew to have an impact on American society, especially in literature and politics, which still lasts today. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg were the founders of the Beat G...