The Philosophy of the Beats - Hardcover

by Sharin N. Elkholy (Editor)

Originating from underworld slang-the domain of hustlers, drug addicts, and petty thieves-the term "Beat" was short for "beaten down" or downtrodden. To writer Jack Kerouac it symbolized being at the bottom of society's hierarchy and looking up. Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation" in 1948 to characterize the underground, anti-conformist youth gathering in New York City at that time. The Beat Generation consisted of writers, artists, and activists, and they became a uniquely American

Author Biography

Sharin N. Elkholy is an assistant professor at the University of Houston-Downtown. She is the author of Heidegger and a Metaphysics of Feeling: Angst and the Finitude of Being. She lives in Houston, TX.