Jack Kerouac was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. Along with William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is amongst the best known of the writers known as the Beat Generation.

Kerouac's work was very popular, but received little critical acclaim during his lifetime. Today, he is considered an important and influential writer who inspired others, including Tom Robbins, Lester Bangs, Richard Brautigan, and Ken Kesey, and writers of the New Journalism. Kerouac also influenced musicians such as The Beatles, Ben Gibbard, Bob Dylan,Tom Waits, Simon & Garfunkel, Ulf Lundell and Jim Morrison. Kerouac's best-known books are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, and Visions of Cody.