The Beat Generation consisted of a group of friends who came together in the 1950s in New England and then migrated west through Colorado and ultimately to California. Though the Beats were not a formal artistic group, and the definition of what a Beat is can be broad, essentially the Beats were artistic misfits who mainstream society often saw as degenerates.

The Beats believed in a number of things, but their chief principles consisted of individual liberation, a rejection of mainstream values, a deep appreciation for and exploration of human consciousness, a belief in the individual’s connection to the universe, a rejection of militarism and materialism, a reverence for drug use, and artistic and individual honesty. Many Beat writers were political radicals, psychiatric patients, homosexuals, and criminals. They rejected the Eisenhower 1950s that was typified by the nuclear family, suburban life, a pursuit of capital, and Protestant values. Instead, they found inspiration in the taboo, the disowned and ostracized, and in the insane.

In art, the Beats believed in spontaneous creativity and utilized techniques like stream of consciousness and first thought/best thought. They rejected the traditional revision process and preferred a raw, emotional, honest, confessional approach to poetry and fiction.