Which sentence best shows how the writers of the Beat Generation worked as artists? Jack Kerouac: A Literary Jazz Artist
by Alisa Scerrato
Jack Kerouac, born in 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts, was a groundbreaking writer. He invented a new style of prose, which is often referred to as "automatic writing" or "spontaneous prose." His works were heavily autobiographical; he captured life as he saw it and applied it to paper as if he were composing a jazz piece. The jazz style of music, which he was heavily inspired by, involves a variety of rhythms and unexpected interruptions of flow. Jack adapted this style and applied it to writing literature, hence the term "spontaneous prose." Jack broke grammar rules and created new ones, and due to his unconventional writing style, he was not accepted as a serious writer by critics and publishers for several years. Eventually, his style caught on and helped influence a generation of writers who belonged to what was called the Beat Generation. The term "beat" had many different connotations at the time, from "beat down" to "tired," mainly referring to their impression of society at the time. The term was even used as an abbreviation for "beatnik." However, members of this generation did not accept or use the term Beat Generation to define themselves. The main characteristic of this lifestyle was to live in the moment and write words down on paper spontaneously in order to capture experiences as they happened.
Kerouac was an educated man with a zest for life, and he eventually took to the road to experience a country that he believed was much more interesting than the suburbia that was becoming the norm in America. He was fascinated by Neal Cassady, a charismatic character, who was considered a genius and icon during the 1950s and 1960s. They took several cross-country road trips together in the 1950s, and these adventures became the basis for Kerouac’s most acclaimed work, On the Road. He wrote about his wild experiences and the people he met and presented the manuscript to his editor on a single roll of paper. The novel was initially rejected but then published in 1957. At the time, people thought this new style of Beat writing was simply a fad. However, Kerouac proved them wrong, and he continued to write and attain respect in the literary world. He published other novels such as The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, and The Subterraneans, just to name a few. Jack Kerouac died in 1969 at age 47, but his legacy lives on.