The Beat Poets and Mexico
The Impact of Mexico on the Controversial Group of American Writers
May 4, 2009
Two of these writers’ lives, however, would later become more strongly associated with the mythical, mysterious land south-of-the-border.
The 'Beat' Writers Seek Adventure in Mexico
The Mexico City of the 1950s was a hedonist’s paradise where the bohemian, ‘Beat’ writers of the period felt right at home. Here in this sprawling metropolis, they were able to lose themselves in a haze of cheap alcohol, drugs and sex. “A single man could live well there for two dollars a day,” wrote William Burroughs.
Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso were, along with William Burroughs, the main players in this debauched Mexican sojourn, with Ginsberg and Burroughs staying there for a total of about five years.
William Burroughs: On the Run in Mexico
William Burroughs, who was perhaps most famous for his novel Naked Lunch, had fled to Mexico to escape arrest. He was wanted by the state of Louisiana alter police found letters in his home from Allen Ginsberg detailing a possible delivery of marijuana.
The Death of Burroughs’ Wife
While at a party in Mexico City in 1951, Burroughs accidentally shot dead his wife Joan Vollmer while trying to shoot a glass off her head in a game known as ‘William Tell’. After spending a short time in prison and a succession of bribery attempts and legal complications, he eventually fled Mexico and travelled around South America before returning to the United States. He was greatly affected by his wife's death and his life and work would never be the same again.
Neal Cassady: Death on the Train Tracks
Neal Cassady was not as renowned for his writing as, say, Kerouac or Ginsberg, but he was an important member of the group and was characterised on more than one occasion in the work of these two, more successful writers.
The character of Dean Moriarty in Kerouac’s most famous work, On the Road, for example, was based on Cassady and turned him into a cult figure for the younger generation.
In 1968, he found himself once again in Mexico where, after attending a wedding in San Miguel de Allende on February 3rd, he was found lying in a coma on a railway line in the rain wearing only a t-shirt and jeans. He died the next day, four days shy of his 42nd birthday. The cause of his death remains a mystery, but it is commonly put down to 'exposure'.
The Influence of Mexico on the Other 'Beat' Writers
The controversial group, with the exception of Burroughs, had travelled to Mexico primarily for fun and adventure, but never imagined just how much of an impact the country would have on their lives and work. Their entire philosophy on life, which included non-conformity and sexual freedom, would find a spiritual home south-of-the-border.
In the case of William Burroughs and Neal Cassady, that impact would have further-reaching consequences.
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