Who is Herbert Huncke from The Portable Beat Reader and what is their importance? The_Portable_Beat_Reader English & Literature Herbert Huncke | The Portable Beat Reader

Herbert Huncke is not primarily known as a writer but for his impact on other Beats. Huncke meets William S. Burroughs in 1944 and introduces him to heroin and the New York City underworld. Burroughs sees Huncke as the original hipster and something of an inverse role-model. Burroughs introduces Huncke to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who both encourage Huncke to write. Huncke's stories focus on the strange people Huncke meets in his experience using drugs, going to jail, trying to quit in rehabilitation, etc. Kerouac credits Huncke with originating the term "beat" as the Beats use it.