1950s

The 1950s marked a dynamic period for literature, witnessing a diverse array of literary movements and voices. Post-war disillusionment gave rise to existentialist themes in works like Camus’s “The Stranger” and Sartre’s “Nausea.” Beat Generation writers like Kerouac and Ginsberg rebelled against societal norms with their spontaneous prose and poetry, epitomised in “On the Road” and “Howl.” Meanwhile, the emergence of influential authors like Salinger (“The Catcher in the Rye”) and Nabokov (“Lolita”) challenged conventional storytelling. Amidst Cold War anxieties, sci-fi flourished, with Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” warning against censorship. Overall, the decade was a vibrant tapestry of innovation, dissent, and literary exploration.