Kerouac, Jack (1923-1969)

American writer, who was the first to use the term Beat Generation in reference to the group of American writers, including himself, who rejected mainstream society in the 1950s through their unconventional writings and alternative lifestyles. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac briefly attended Columbia College, the undergraduate college of Columbia University, before serving as a merchant marine in the 1940s. Later he traveled throughout the United States. Kerouac's best-known novel is On the Road (1957), a loosely structured and mostly autobiographical account of the Beat experience in America, regarded as one of the classic works of the Beat Generation. It recounts the hitchhiking adventures of several characters who embrace drugs, sex, and music in their wanderings across the United States. The Dharma Bums (1958) is a more conventional novel, on the theme of self-fulfillment through Zen Buddhism. Big Sur (1962), the sequel to On the Road, describes the retreat of a Beat leader to the California coast, where he attempts to put his life in order. Kerouac also wrote poetry, such as Mexico City Blues, (1959), and travel pieces, such as Lonesome Traveler, (1960). His posthumously published works include Selected Letters, 1940-1956 and the poetry collection Book of Blues, (both published in 1995).