Beat writers
is a group of American writers in the late 1950s, led by the poet Allen
Ginsberg and the novelist Jack Kerouac. Writers of the 'beat generation'
dropped out of middle-class society in search of 'beatific' ecstasy through
drugs, sex, and Zen Buddhism. Their loose styles favour spontaneous
self-expression and recitation to jazz accompaniment. The principal works of
the group are Ginsberg's Howl (1956) and Kerouac's On the Road (1957).
Significant contributions in poetry were Gregory Corso's Gasoline (1958) and
Gary Snyder's Riprap (1959); while in prose, the group's mentor William S.
Burroughs published The Naked Lunch in 1959. The poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was
another leading figure. The Beats had a strong influence on the
'counter-culture' of the 1960s.