Lucien Carr was born on March 1, 1925, in New York City. He went on to study at Columbia University, and during that period he became part of the Beat Generation movement. While a number of figures associated with that movement pursued writing as their primary occupation, Carr made his career as a journalist.

As a journalist, Carr worked in the profession he'd chosen while remaining a U.S. citizen throughout his life. His story stretched from New York City, where he was born, to Washington, D.C., where he died on January 28, 2005, at the age of seventy-nine.