Beat Generation facts for kids
The Beat Generation was a group of writers, poets, and artists in the 1950s and 1960s. They loved the rhythm of jazz and bebop music. This music became like a soundtrack for their lives and their creative work.
People connected to this group were called "Beats." Sometimes they were called "Beatniks." This second name was a bit of a joke, linking them to Communism. While a few Beats supported Communism, most did not. The name "Beat" came from the novelist Jack Kerouac. He was sometimes called "The King of the Beats." Other important Beat writers were William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
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Where the Beats Started
Columbia University
The Beat Generation really began at Columbia University. This is where Kerouac, Ginsberg, and others first met. Kerouac went to Columbia on a football scholarship. Even though the Beats are often seen as being against traditional school ideas, many of their thoughts came from reacting to their professors.
Two classmates, Carr and Ginsberg, talked about needing a "New Vision" for writing. They borrowed this idea from W. B. Yeats. They felt their teachers had old-fashioned ideas about literature.
Greenwich Village
Later, Beat writers and artists moved to Greenwich Village in New York City. This was in the late 1950s. They liked the low rent and the friendly, small-town feel of the area. People often gathered in Washington Square Park for folksongs, poetry readings, and discussions.
Allen Ginsberg was a big part of the scene in the Village. William S. Burroughs also lived there.
How the Beats Influenced Books
The Beat writers had a big impact on new novelists in the 1960s and 1970s. One writer closely linked to the Beats was Ken Kesey. He wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Other writers felt the Beats were a major influence, even if they didn't work directly with them. These included Thomas Pynchon, who wrote Gravity's Rainbow, and Tom Robbins, who wrote Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Beats and Music
The Beat Generation also had a huge influence on rock and roll and popular music. This included bands like the Beatles, and artists like Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison.
The Beatles even spelled their name with an "a" partly because of the Beat Generation. John Lennon was a big fan of Jack Kerouac. The Beatles also put Beat writer William S. Burroughs on the cover of their famous album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later, Allen Ginsberg became friends with members of The Beatles. Paul McCartney even played instruments on Ginsberg's album Ballad of the Skeletons.
Ginsberg was also a close friend of Bob Dylan. He toured with Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975. Bob Dylan has said that Ginsberg and Kerouac were very important influences on his own music.
Images for kids
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Lawrence Ferlinghetti
See also
In Spanish: Generación beat para niños
