Critical Insights: American Road Literature

Beginning with the westward thrust of early America’s seaboard colonies to the romanticized and philosophical road narratives of the Beat Generation, the American experience—its ideals, dreams, and subsequent disillusionments—has been quintessentially linked to the road. Whether grueling or carefree, spiritual or physical, these journeys upon the American highway have helped us to explore and define our diverse culture and establish the road narrative as an essential American genre.