John Clellon Holmes (March 12th, 1926 - March 2nd, 1988) is best known for his 1952 book Go which described characters such as Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg and for his attempts to define the Beat Generation. He is often seen as a "sometime" member of the Beat Generation. Holmes came to the conclusion that the values and ambitions of the Beat Generation were merely symbolic of something bigger, which was the inspiration for Go.

Later in life, Holmes lectured at Yale and gave workshops at Brown University.