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Article: John Clellon Holmes, 62, `Beat Generation' author
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- April 2, 1988
CopyrightCopyright (null) Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (UPI) Author John Clellon Holmes, who coined
the term "beat" to describe the literary and social rebels of the
generation that followed World War II, is dead at 62.
Mr. Holmes succumbed to cancer a day after being admitted to a
hospital here. Although he had been weakened for some time by the
disease, he continued writing until a few months ago.
The Beat Generation and its lifestyle surfaced in Mr. Holmes'
first novel, Go, which he wrote in 1952. He came up with "beat" to
describe the negative reaction of young people to the "gray flannel
suit mentality" of mainstream U.S. society in the postwar years.
Mr. Holmes, a native of Holyoke, Mass., was a companion of Beat ...