Beatnik
In 1948, Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the underground, anticonformist youth gathering in New York at that time. The name came up in conversation with John Clellon Holmes, who published an early Beat Generation novel titled "Go" (1952), along with the manifesto "This Is the Beat Generation" in "The New York Times Magazine". In 1954, Nolan Miller published his third novel "Why I Am So Beat" (Putnam), detailing the weekend parties of four students.
Gustave Reininger
The “Beats” are back. Ever “cool”, ever “hip”, this poignant, humorous film will introduce today’s youth market to the inner circle of the American Icons known as “the Beat Generation” – Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and Gregory Corso. It dove-tails with the new wave of interest in this 50th anniversary of “On the Road” and Francis Coppola’s upcoming film version... “The Last Beat” looks at the extraordinary life of Gregory Corso, the most colorful of “the Beats”… Outstanding documentary work combine with pacing and entertainment value that come from the film-maker’s background: Co-creator of NBC’s and Michael Mann’s “Crime Story” and "Miami Vice" contributor… By following Corso, the film shows how “the Beats” changed American society, paving the way for youth culture, the sexual revolution and even hip-hop… The film follows Gregory Corso on a trip to the monuments of France, Italy, and Greece retracing the early days of "The Beats."... Remarkably, the film-maker found Corso’s Italian mother who abandoned him as a baby; reunited them; and caught these poignant moments on film… Corso also amazes by visiting prison inmates at Clinton State Prison, where at age 17 he was encouraged by Italian mafia prisoners to educate himself. (He ended up at Harvard later.)… After the European odyssey, a revitalized Corso returns to Greenwich Village to work again... Then, in ultimate irony, Corso faces his own mortality with humor and pluck, comforted by Ethan Hawke, Patti Smith and his newfound mother, Michellina.