Recognition and Rejection of the American Non-Dream

"America is not so much a nightmare as a non-dream. The American non-dream is precisely a move to wipe the dream out of existence."

--William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs understood the threat to established American values posed by the Beats. Categorically the theorist amongst the lead Beat writers, Burroughs' legacy included over twenty published novels that influenced youth culture far beyond his generation. His impact on creative movements (punk rock, performance art, and independent film), as well as civil rights movements (sexual liberation of the homosexual community), confirmed the author's genius throughout the decades, earning him such titles as "High Priest of Junk," "Godfather of Punk," and "Gay Rights Pioneer." With the exceptions of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, however, Burroughs' own generation continuously excluded his writing from the realm of respectability, which left "El Hombre Invisible" alone on the search for reconciliation of the self in the midst of cultural homogeneity-a quest to redefine the traditional values advocated by the American Dream.[1]