Lucien Carr

Living… in a Columbia University dorm room, with a mattress on the floor and books strewn all over. Lucien has no trouble navigating campus life. The city is his playground. Every night he has his new friends over, some of which are shocked that he would drink in his room.

Profession… college student, and aspiring writer who hasn’t written a word. He focuses more on the metaphysical side of things rather than the actual writing. In fact, he’s already started his own literary movement – “The New Vision” – coined by his friend/mentee Allen Ginsberg, but inspired by Lucien’s own spirit. Their manifesto blows away everything in the university library. They’re sure of it.

Interests… literature and life. To Lucien, there’s no separation between the two. Public readings of Henry Miller, late-night discussions of Yeats, utterances of the spirit onto the page – these are matters of life and death to him.

Relationship Status... complicated, which is understating it. He’s been carrying on an illicit affair with David Kammerer, an older academic type who’s leading him on. David said he was Lucien’s guardian angel, but every time they make a leap, David takes two steps back. Lucien’s paranoid and controlling tendencies don’t make things easier.

Challenge… being left behind. He took these ordinary talents – Ginsberg and William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac – and made them extraordinary. And now, in his time of need, they’re the first to jump ship. The same forces that made his life a work of art are now destroying it.

Personality… spirited and passionate. The definition of a bon vivant, or beatnik, starved for experience. To him, routine is death. Life happens when the wheel of routine is broken. He wants to be a living work of art. He considers it his duty.