The work of the Beat Generation writers has evolved from being an important part of the counter culture of the 1960s to being viewed by many critics as the most significant literary and cultural phenomenon of the post-war period. Here, in a series of specially commissioned essays, leading academics consider the work of the major Beat writers alongside that of lesser known black and women writers. This collection shows that Beat means more than the core group of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and Corso.

The contributors discuss the meanings of the term Beat, the poetics of Beat writing, the influence of Indian and Buddhist philosophy, jazz influences, the importance of Emerson and Whitman, and the relation to Ezra Pound and the Modernist tradition. The feminist response to and involvement in the movement is given special prominence. As the only up to date work on the subject, The Beat Generation Writers will be a useful text for students of English and American Literature, Popular Culture and Communications Studies.