What is a beat?

"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, On The Road


The above is one of Kerouac's most oft-quoted passages. It's the subject of Day 23 (not deliberately but now that I think of it, the Jim Carrey movie has a point about the mystical qualities of that number) in my book, The Beat Handbook. But what else can be said about beats?

-Beats write (that's why my book has many writing assignments and space to write)
-Beats exude passion about life (they spontaneously break into song and dance in public places)
-Beats live green (they recycle and reuse)
-Beats barter (they eschew the use of money to get things)
-Beats live simply and cheaply (they hitchhike)
-Beats embrace spirituality (they meditate)
-Beats listen to music (they never miss a live music event)
-Beats live spontaneously (they live in the now)
-Beats party (they use any excuse to assemble food, drink, and friends)
-Beats go go go (they always seek the next horizon)

Beats do all of this and more. For 100 examples, get my book! It answers the question, "What would Jack Kerouac do?"