Beat Generation 

The Beat Generation is defined in Encyclopaedia Britannica as an "American social and literary movement originating in the 1950s and centered in the bohemian artist communities of San Francisco’s North Beach, Los Angeles’ Venice West, and New York City’s Greenwich Village." ("Beat movement")

"They advocated personal release, purification, and illumination through the heightened sensory awareness that might be induced by drugs, jazz, sex, or the disciplines of Zen Buddhism. The Beats and their advocates found the joylessness and purposelessness of modern society sufficient justification for both withdrawal and protest." ("Beat movement")

KEY CHARACTERISTICS of the Beat Generation 

1) sexual liberation

2) non-conformity

3) spontaneous creativity

4) experimentation with psychedelic drugs

5) exploring both Western and Eastern religion 

6) rejection of materialism 

("Beat Generation")

WRITERS of the Beat Generation and their publications

1) Allen Ginsberg - Howl

2) Jack Kerouac - On the road

3)  William S. Burroughs - Naked lunch

("Beat Generation")

Here you can watch a video of Allen Ginsberg reading Beat Poetry: 

Sources: 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Beat movement". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement. Accessed 2 October 2023.

“Beat Generation.” Poem Analysis, 9 Feb. 2021, poemanalysis.com/movement/beat-generation/. Accessed 02 Oct. 2023. 

“Allen Ginsberg Reads Beat Poetry at Royal Albert Hall London 1965 | Premium Footage.” YouTube, 12 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiQQ0DljjJ4&ab_channel=Kinolibrary.