The American writer Jack Kerouac, whose centenary fell this year, was adamant about the Catholic inspiration of his work, which he repeatedly referred to, in part to disarm his critics. In 1961, Kerouac claimed to one correspondent that his most celebrated novel, On the Road (1957), was “really a story about two Catholic buddies roaming the country in search of God”.
After he coined the term “Beat Generation” – initially referring to those lacking basic necessities for life – he belatedly discovered a further meaning in the French word béat, or blessed. Thenceforth Kerouac called his generation beatific, rather than disadvantaged. He rejected associated terminology, scolding a television reporter in 1968 with “I’m no Beatnik. I’m a Catholic.”
