Gregory Corso

Gregory Corso (1930–2001) was an American poet and a central figure of the Beat Generation, known for works such as Gasoline (1958) and The Happy Birthday of Death (1960). His poetry combined lyricism, humor, and existential themes, contributing to the development of postwar American literature.

In 1957, he traveled to Paris together with Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky. They settled in a lodging house above a bar at 9 rue Gît-le-Cœur on the Left Bank, which Corso named the Beat Hotel. The space became a gathering place for young expatriate painters, writers, and musicians.

Within this milieu, Corso became part of the broader artistic and literary environment in which Joan Mitchell and her circle were active, where they met in 1957 and became friends.