John Clellon Holmes, a sometime-member of the crowd of friends that would become famous as the Beat Generation, wrote the first published works to herald their significance. Less controversial and experimental than Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg, Holmes had the sensitivity to realize that their confused values and poignant ambitions were symbolic of something outside their small universe, and he published a novel, 'Go' (1952), which presented characters based on Kerouac, Ginsberg and Neal Cassady years before more famous works like 'On The Road' would be released.
Holmes had met Jack Kerouac at a party, and the two promising young novelists struck up a friendship on the basis of their interest in writing. In 1948, Holmes had pressed Jack Kerouac to describe the unique qualities of his generation, and Kerouac invented the term 'Beat Generation' on the spot. In 1952, after the publication of 'Go,' Holmes wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine, 'This is the Beat Generation,' in which he introduced this phrase to the world. Check out the original text of this article, or click here for more on the origin of this term.
John Clellon Holmes remained close friends with Jack Kerouac until Kerouac's death in 1969. There are some poignant stories in Barry Gifford's oral biography "Jack's Book" about some of Jack's last, lonely visits to Old Saybrook to enjoy the domestic pleasures of Holmes' quieter existence with his wife. Holmes died in 1988, leaving behind three novels and several books of poetry, essays and memoirs.