Editing Beat Generation (section)

===Greenwich Village===
Beat writers and artists flocked to [[Greenwich Village]] in New York City in the late 1950s because of low rent and the "small town" element of the scene. Folksongs, readings and discussions often took place in [[Washington Square Park]].<ref>McDarrah, Fred W., and Gloria S. McDarrah. 1996. ''Beat Generation: Glory Days in Greenwich Village''. New York: Schirmer Books.</ref> Allen Ginsberg was a big part of the scene in the Village, as was Burroughs, who lived at 69 Bedford Street.<ref name="Beard, Rick 1993">Beard and Berlowitz. 1993. ''Greenwich Village''. "The Beat Generation in the Village." 165–198.</ref>

Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac, and other poets frequented many bars in the area, including the [[San Remo Cafe]] at 93 MacDougal Street on the northwest corner of Bleecker, [[Chumley's]], and [[Minetta Tavern]].<ref name="Beard, Rick 1993" /> [[Jackson Pollock]], [[Willem de Kooning]], [[Franz Kline]], and other abstract expressionists were also frequent visitors of and collaborators with the Beats.<ref>Beard and Berlowitz. 1993. ''Greenwich Village''. "The Beat Generation in the Village." 170.</ref> Cultural critics have written about the transition of Beat culture in the Village into the Bohemian hippie culture of the 1960s.<ref>Beard and Berlowitz. 1993. ''Greenwich Village''. "The Beat Generation in the Village." 178.</ref>

In 1960, a presidential election year, the Beats formed a political party, the "Beat Party," and held a mock nominating convention to announce a presidential candidate: the African-American street poet [[Big Brown (poet)|Big Brown]], won a majority of votes on the first ballot but fell short of the eventual nomination.<ref name="Austin Statesman">{{cite news |title=Beat Party Nominates Anti-Presidential Choice |date=July 21, 1960}}</ref>  The Associated Press reported, "Big Brown's lead startled the convention. Big, as the husky African American is called by his friends, wasn't the favorite son of any delegation, but he had one tactic that earned him votes. In a chatterbox convention, only once did he speak at length, and that was to read his poetry."<ref name="Amarillo Globe Times">{{cite news |title=Anti-Presidential Nominee Named on 5th Beat Ballot |date=July 21, 1960}}</ref>