In a letter to Neal Cassady on October 3, 1948, Jack Kerouac wrote:
“But listen … do you realize (this is apropos) that a new literary age is beginning in America?”*
About ten years later The American College Dictionary wants to add “Beat Generation” to its word list.
They sent their definition to Kerouac asking him whether he would like to correct it or write a new version. He wrote a new one: „Beat Generation—members of the generation that came of age after World War II who espouse mystical detachment and relaxation of social and sexual tensions, supposedly as a result of disillusionment stemming from the cold war.“
(Contrary to my recent posts about disappearing French words, now about an addition of a definition, which today, slightly changed, still remains in the dictionary…)
The other day, I’ve watched a documentary about the “Beat Generation”.
As you all know, the Beat Generation, that’s mainly three names and three books: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs with On the Road, Howl, and Naked Lunch.
I still haven’t read Jack Kerouac’s famous book yet.
But since I’ve finished A Sunday in the Mountains I think October 3 is a good day to start reading On the Road.
* Kerouac, J. (1948 October 3). Letter to Neal Cassady. In A. Charters (Ed.), (1995)