The Beat generation

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"The Beat generation": 

Allen Ginsberg ->

 Young poet. Discouraged by materialism and conformity. HE wrote a poem in 1955 entitled Howl.  in the poem, he rebuked (criticize) American Society. He started a new literary generation.

The Beats (or the beat Generation) → A group of people interested in looking for new ways to live. They were a group of writers in New York.  They were trying to break social boundaries and straight lines of society. Their ideology was cultivated on the East Coast but they moved to the West Coast. They were looking for a new place to create new things and the farthest they could go was San Fransisco. 

San Fransisco →

At the time, it was known for being a place more open to creative and alternative ideas. They were easily accepted in San Fransisco. They became attractive.  At the time, it was relatively conservative but there was still room for poets and artists. Unusual city. They lived in the North Beach neighborhood. The 1950s: that’s the beginning of LSD. 

Owley Stanley →

had an LSD experience. He created 60,000 doses of LSD. He thought that LSD could change the world for the better. He was the grandson of a senator. He spread the doses around San Fransisco.

Ken Kesey →

 He was one of the early clients of Owley Stanley. He participated as a volunteer in an LSD experiment. He organized huge parties for people to test LSD. He was the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. He was not interested in the scientific aspect of LSD: he just wanted to have fun. He partied with a group of people who called themselves “The Merry Pranksters”. They were 50 people at the parties at the beginning and then there were 5,000 people. Then LSD spread around college campuses. The use of psychedelics was for the promise of a new perception of the world. His point of view was out of step with mainstream America.