Editing Beat Generation (section)

===Early American sources===
The Beats were inspired by early American figures in the [[Transcendentalism|transcendentalist]] movement, such as [[Henry David Thoreau]], [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Herman Melville]] and especially [[Walt Whitman]], who is addressed as the subject of one of Ginsberg's most famous poems, "[[A Supermarket in California]]". [[Edgar Allan Poe]] was occasionally acknowledged, and Ginsberg saw [[Emily Dickinson]] as having an influence on Beat poetry. The 1926 novel ''[[You Can't Win (book)|You Can't Win]]'' by outlaw author [[Jack Black (author)|Jack Black]] was cited as having a strong influence on Burroughs.<ref>Ted Morgan, ''Literary Outlaw'' (1988), p.36-37 of trade paper edition, "When Billy [William Burroughs] was thirteen, he came across a book that would have an enormous impact on his life and work. Written by someone calling himself Jack Black, ''You Can't Win'' was the memoir of a professional thief and drug addict."</ref>