But then they danced down the street like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!"--Jack Kerouac
The Beat Generation had a strong kinship with jazz music, poetry, drugs, bohemia, mysticism, sex, and virtually anything which rebelled against "normal" 1950's society. Literary works relied heavily upon improvisation and inspiration. If you read Beat poetry or prose, you'll recognize the lack of traditional metering replaced by a subconscious rhythmic stream. In addition, art was showcased without revision.
The Beat movement centered around poetry readings, jazz performances, and coffee shops located in San Francisco and Greenwich Village.
The phrase "Beat Generation" was coined by Jack Kerouac around 1952 in a double entendre to convey both depression and beatificion.