Interracial/Cross Cultural in Beat Generation Literature
After World War II and the Korean War, Americans were pretty biased against people in East Asia. The Beats hated this prejudice. They championed eastern Buddhist thought not just because they found it groovy, but also because it pissed off a lot of powerful white people.
Chew on This:
Beat bros Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen followed fairly strict Buddhist lives. But Buddhism wasn't the only element of Eastern culture they integrated into their lives. They were also heavily influenced by the haiku. This handy little form helped these American writers simplify their poetry. Simplify your poetry, simplify your life, dude.
In On the Road, Kerouac idolizes minority communities. Why? Because he believed they possessed a rich artistic tradition that we could all learn a lot from. In particular, Kerouac admired black writers like Langston Hughes, and strove to emulate the jazz poetry of the Harlem Renaissance. Kerouac was the ultimate jazz music groupie—and Renaissance man.