In the 1950's and 60's Beat writing was at the core of American literature. Writer's such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder challenged conventional writing and urged everyone to think in a different way. They honed their craft at City Lights Publishing in San Francisco and met after hours at a bar next door called the Vesuvio to argue art, music and politics. They changed the way people thought, what they read and even how they dressed. They allowed writers such as Charles Bukowski the ability to be accepted by the main stream. Eventually the movement died out and today is largely forgotten. Death and Modern Kitchens is a study on Beat poetry but also an honest observance of the human condition. In many ways it says what we are thinking but are not allowed to say.