(Jean Louis) (1923-1969) US novelist. He named and epitomized the Beat Generation of the 1950s. The first of his autobiographical, myth-making books, The Town and the City 1950, was followed by the rhapsodic On the Road 1957. Other works written with similar free-wheeling energy and inspired by his interests in jazz and Buddhism include The Dharma Bums 1958, Doctor Sax 1959, and Desolation Angels 1965. His major contribution to poetry was Mexico City Blues 1959.
He became a legendary symbol of youthful rebellion from the late 1950s, but before Kerouac's early death from alcoholism, he had become a semirecluse, unable to cope with his fame.