It started off as a small group of friends, who were basically all too cool for school and had a common style and aesthetic for poetry; eventually the Beat Poets grew into the Beat Generation and the Beat Movement of the 1950s, distinct and independent from the conventional society.''' The major Beat poets were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neil Cassady, Gary Snyder, and William S. Burroughs'''. They were an influential group of both writers and poets who originally met in San Francisco, California. During the time they were active, these artists kept each other motivated, but struggled for years to get their work published since most mainstream critics didn't understand their perspective or writing style.
The Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, and Philip Whalen were among some of the notable readers.
The Beat Generation was concerned with many pressing issues, such as spiritual and sexual liberation, environmental consciousness, drug use, respect for the land and indigenous people and animals; the clash with (and rejection of) militaristic/industrialized government; and alienation from mainstream society. Many of the poets were homosexual (like Harold Norse) and were open about this since sexual liberation was at the forefront of this time.
