"American Hipster tells the tale of a New York sex worker and heroin addict whose unrepentant deviance caught the imagination of Beat writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. Teetering between exhaustion and existential despair, Huncke often said 'I'm beat, man.' His line gave Kerouac the label for a down-at-the heels generation seeking spiritual sustenance as well as 'kicks' in post-war America" -- P.[4] pf cover.