The Beats, overwhelmingly white, and college-educated, foregoed their inherited social status for a romanticized vision of a bohemian lifestyle. The above passage also reveals the intricate relationship between the language used by the Beats and the lifestyle they emulated, both summarized by jazz music. Many similarities have been drawn between the musician and the writer. As both make art, many individuals have progressed or alternated between one medium and another. There is a certain acoustical deadness in my hole, and when I have music I want to feel its vibration, not only with my ear but with my whole body.
Jazz is an offspring of a long oral tradition of African music.
Although society now provides technological means of making audio records or preserving literature, the ultimate reinforcement of the creative process requires the remembrance of the sounds of creation. Sometimes, poets have even performed with the accompaniment of jazz music, although that is not necessary to emulate jazz performances. Bookstores and coffeehouse franchises have recently desensitized artistic audiences to the visceral release of artists reading their own work. This first, rhythm, has been utilized in the United States since the onset of free verse. Ginsberg reads his poetry like a mantra, often ending lines with a rising intonation.