American poet, autobiographer, and letter writer.
Cassady is widely considered the muse of the Beat Generation. Though Cassady did write poetry, extensive letters of literary quality, and the start of an autobiography, his reputation rests on his inclusion in the writings of other Beat authors. Jack Kerouac’s novels almost always featured a main character based on his friend Cassady; and though many readers thought Dean Moriarty of On the Road was Kerouac himself, his bohemian hero was Cassady, down to the smallest details. Cassady is also the hero “N.C.” of Allen Ginsberg’s classic poem “Howl” and figures in other poems among Ginsberg’s early works. His inclusion in these famous Beat writings resulted in Cassady’s subsequent notoreity as a cult literary figure. Cassady’s enormous appetite for life and immense energy fascinated his friends as well as the readers of Beat literature.
Cassady was born in Salt Lake City on February 8, 1926. Cassady’s parents had a troubled marriage, in large part due to his father’s severe alcoholism and illegal moneymaking schemes, and they divorced when Cassady was six years old. Left in the care of his father, Cassady moved to the slums of Denver and lived in flophouses among the skid row derelicts.
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