Tragic Endings and Lasting Legacy

The Beat Generation's heroes met largely tragic ends. Jack Kerouac, bitter and alcoholic, died at 47 in 1969, watching television in his mother's Florida home. Neal Cassady was found dead on Mexican train tracks in 1968, apparently from exposure after a wedding party. William Burroughs lived longest but carried the guilt of shooting Joan Vollmer in 1951. Yet their literary revolution endures, having permanently changed American writing by proving that literature could capture the rhythms of actual speech and the consciousness of a generation in rebellion.

• Kerouac died alcoholic and bitter at 47 in 1969

• Cassady found dead on Mexican train tracks in 1968

• Burroughs haunted by 1951 shooting of Joan Vollmer

• Literary revolution permanently changed American writing