The Howl of a Generation The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy, and religion, the Beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way an entire generation of people see the world. That generation is now aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The impact of the Beats would certainly not have been as universal or i