AND THE HIPPOS WERE BOILED IN THEIR TANKS

Jean-Louis"Jack"LebrisdeKerouac(/ˈkɛruːæk/or/ˈkɛrɵæk/;March12,1922–October21,1969)wasanAmericannovelistandpoet.Heisconsideredaliteraryiconoclastand,alongsideWilliamS.BurroughsandAllenGinsberg,apioneeroftheBeatGeneration.[2]Kerouacisrecognizedforhisspontaneousmethodofwriting,coveringtopicssuchasCatholicspirituality,jazz,promiscuity,Buddhism,drugs,poverty,andtravel.Hiswritingshaveinspiredotherwriters,includingKenKesey,BobDylan,RichardBrautigan,ThomasPynchon,[3]LesterBangs,TomRobbins,WillClarke,andHarukiMurakami.[citationneeded]Criticsofhisworkhavelabeledit"slapdash","grosslysentimental",[4]and"immoral".[5]Kerouacbecameanundergroundcelebrityand,withotherbeats,aprogenitoroftheHippiemovement,[6]althoughheremainedantagonistictowardit.In1969,atage47,Kerouacdiedfrominternalbleedingduetolong-standingabuseofalcohol.SincehisdeathKerouac'sliteraryprestigehasgrownandseveralpreviouslyunseenworkshavebeenpublished.Allofhisbooksareinprinttoday,amongthem:OntheRoad,DoctorSax,TheDharmaBums,MexicoCityBlues,TheSubterraneans,DesolationAngels,VisionsofCodyandBigSur.WilliamSewardBurroughsII(/ˈbʌroʊz/;alsoknownbyhispennameWilliamLee;February5,1914(1914-02-05)–August2,1997(1997-08-02))wasanAmericannovelist,poet,essayistandspokenwordperformer.BurroughswasaprimaryfigureoftheBeatGenerationandamajorpostmodernistauthorwhoaffectedpopularcultureaswellasliterature.Heisconsideredtobe"oneofthemostpoliticallytrenchant,culturallyinfluential,andinnovativeartistsofthe20thcentury."[1]Burroughswrote18novelsandnovellas,sixcollectionsofshortstoriesandfourcollectionsofessays.Fivebookshavebeenpublishedofhisinterviewsandcorrespondences.Burroughsalsocollaboratedonprojectsandrecordingswithnumerousperformersandmusicians,andmademanyappearancesinfilms.HewasborntoawealthyfamilyinSt.Louis,Missouri,grandsonofthefounderoftheBurroughsCorporation,WilliamSewardBurroughsI,andnephewofpublicrelationsmanagerIvyLee.Burroughsbeganwritingessaysandjournalsinearlyadolescence.Helefthomein1932toattendHarvardUniversity,studyingEnglishandanthropology,butafterbeingturneddownbytheOfficeofStrategicServicesandU.S.NavytoserveinWorldWarII,droppedoutandspentthenexttwentyyearsworkingavarietyofjobs.In1943whilelivinginNewYorkCity,hebefriendedAllenGinsbergandJackKerouac,themutuallyinfluentialfoundationofwhatbecamethecounterculturalmovementoftheBeatGeneration,whilebecominginvolvedinthedrugaddictionthataffectedhimfortherestofhislife.MuchofBurroughs'sworkissemi-autobiographical,primarilydrawnfromhisexperiencesasaheroinaddict,ashelivedthroughoutMexicoCity,London,Paris,Berlin,theSouthAmericanAmazonandTangierinMorocco.Findingsuccesswithhisconfessionalfirstnovel,Junkie(1953),BurroughsisperhapsbestknownforhisthirdnovelNakedLunch(1959),aworkfraughtwithcontroversythatunderwentacourtcaseunderthesodomylaws.WithBrionGysin,healsopopularizedtheliterarycut-uptechniqueinworkssuchasTheNovaTrilogy(1961–64).In1983,BurroughswaselectedtotheAmericanAcademyandInstituteofArtsandLetters,andin1984wasawardedtheOrdredesArtsetdesLettresbyFrance.[2]JackKerouaccalledBurroughsthe"greatestsatiricalwritersinceJonathanSwift,"[3]areputationheowestohis"lifelongsubversion"[1]ofthemoral,politicalandeconomicsystemsofmodernAmericansociety,articulatedinoftendarklyhumoroussardonicism.J.G.BallardconsideredBurroughstobe"themostimportantwritertoemergesincetheSecondWorldWar,"whileNormanMailerdeclaredhim"theonlyAmericanwriterwhomaybeconceivablypossessedbygenius."[3]Burroughshadonechildin1947,WilliamSewardBurroughsIII,withhissecondwifeJoanVollmer,whodiedin1951inMexicoCityafterBurroughs'saccidentalmanslaughter,aneventthatdeeplypermeatedallofhiswritings.BurroughsdiedathishomeinLawrence,Kansasaftersufferingaheartattackin1997.