Jack Kerouac was a famous American novelist and poet known for pioneering the Beat Generation movement in the 1950s. He grew up in Massachusetts with French Canadian parents and was deeply impacted by the early death of his brother. Kerouac developed a spontaneous writing style and wrote about controversial topics, gaining popularity within the hippie counterculture of the 1960s. His most famous work, On the Road, remains in print today along with several other novels that showcase his unconventional writing style and place within a time of social change.