Can the King of the Beats still speak to us today? Or is Kerouac just an embarrassing relic of a hipster past? I reassess the man and his work on the occasion of his centenary.
Many excellent points as always. But I think that something you assert here is a misstep: it's the passage where you suggest (in passing) that David Foster Wallace has a solid literary reputation and it connects to how he comes across as caring in his books. I wonder if you missed out on or forgot about the sad business of his entanglements with the writer Mary Karr (as told by Karr herself in May 2018 or so). I think Karr's revelations about his personal conduct and the follow-on reassessments of his work really did a number on his reputation. I'm a huge fan of DFW and had that "say it ain't so" reaction at the time of Karr's news. Perhaps I over-reacted and all things considered he is still regarded as top shelf, but your assertion practically made me wince since I think his rep took such a serious hit. In any case, looking forward to Part 2 and beyond. Thanks.
Thanks for writing about Jack in this way on the occasion of his 100th birthday. It's a happy day for me. I remember reading 'On The Road' in my late teens and it was like an electric shock of energy and possibilities ran through my entire body and mind. I wanted to immediately fo on the road and see the country and have endless conversations with great friends and hit the city to listen to jazz in clubs in the endless night. Over the years I have continued to read his books and letters and although I am much older (and hopefully wiser) now, I am still amazed at his visions and the care that he took to just write it all down. As WSB said Jack was a writer not an advertisement for Levi's. He was also as you said a flawed man but aren't we all in we're being honest? I miss Jack like a family member and it matters little to me what the haters say about him after all these years. Also agree that a lot of the authors you memtioned will have a rebirth with future generations in 10 or 20 years. Seekers and counterculture will return once the shit we are dealing with now is revealed as the plastic that it is. Love this substack and looking forward to part 2.
Nice article. I never read On the Road when I was a kid. It wasn’t until five years ago I read it. He took the kind of trip many of us wish they could have — but didn’t — sometime in our life. On a separate point, maybe some authors aren’t chic today. Hemingway comes to mind with his outsized life but if you read his short stories and work before For Whom the Bell Tolls, it’s beautifully written full of great ideas. If you neglect him, you’re only cheating yourself. Going back to On the Road. My favorite character: Dean aka Neil Cassidy. Outsized in so many ways.
Thanks, Kerouac has been problematic; I'd put him with the emotion of Zappa's line, "went to Europe and fucked up there so decided to come home to my mothers". so your distinctions are helpful.
and, Kerouac is a hero to your essay on The BURNOUT SOCIETY; His beatitudes are for "la dolce far niete".
I read Kerouac before I took my first trip across country in 1960, from NYC. He made a great impression on me on freedom with sex, beatific, personal experiences he related. Kerouac enlightened me to contemporary thinking. I had three years of Cooper art college; five years living in the Yukon Wilderness, on the river, learning about hunting and gold panning. I read Hemingway, Mark Twain, plus the writer from the south east and one from California, who brought a dog to the gold fields. Names I forgot but which you will know instantly. Remember the author in Ca. whose family came from Serbia? He wrote a book comprised of letters from him to his family. Thanks for bringing me back to those days, where I ought to start my memoir. I wasn't patient for keeping a journal. Now I know how important a journal is to a writer, an artist, an adventurer.
1. We do have a distinct counterculture in American life: believing Christians.
2. I compare the incongrousness of Kerouac's elevation to the status of Our Great Rebel with Che Guevara's prominence as a stenciled visage on clothing. After his death, Guevara's rockstar look made him an inarticulable symbol of something finely hippie, the best of hippie, which was ironic for a man with a murder habit to his reputation.
Kerouac was really a conservative , right leaning that hung out with the lefties. I reject your comment that Kerouac wasn’t really hip to jazz. I’m sure you know David Amram, who was very close to Kerouac, his words were that Jack was very melodious and knowledgeable of melody etc. His rhythm with the typewriter and his textual phrases are very swinging, so I again question your remark of Kerouac’s musical soul. I found his letters to be the most informative towards his struggles with life, money, fame and spirituality. (Jmo)
My wife introduced me to On the Road when we were still dating (across the Atlantic), sending it with the explanation that she always keeps a copy on hand for "literary emergencies". We both love the passage in the video. When the need arises, this is the version we listen to: https://youtu.be/3LLpNKo09Xk
I should mention that I arrived here after enjoying your interview with Rick Beato. When you were discussing the importance of having high expectations of your audience, I kept thinking, "Yes, but if you create smart, interesting content, your audience will self-select as smart, interested people."
Sad, immature, weak, not very good at communication, a little lost in this world. But with a good heart and lust for life. When I went on the road Kerouac was not the guide I was looking for, nor was Henry Miller, but I still read all they had written. They were good discussion partners (like you are).
Great article. Can’t wait to read part 2.
Many excellent points as always. But I think that something you assert here is a misstep: it's the passage where you suggest (in passing) that David Foster Wallace has a solid literary reputation and it connects to how he comes across as caring in his books. I wonder if you missed out on or forgot about the sad business of his entanglements with the writer Mary Karr (as told by Karr herself in May 2018 or so). I think Karr's revelations about his personal conduct and the follow-on reassessments of his work really did a number on his reputation. I'm a huge fan of DFW and had that "say it ain't so" reaction at the time of Karr's news. Perhaps I over-reacted and all things considered he is still regarded as top shelf, but your assertion practically made me wince since I think his rep took such a serious hit. In any case, looking forward to Part 2 and beyond. Thanks.
Thanks for writing about Jack in this way on the occasion of his 100th birthday. It's a happy day for me. I remember reading 'On The Road' in my late teens and it was like an electric shock of energy and possibilities ran through my entire body and mind. I wanted to immediately fo on the road and see the country and have endless conversations with great friends and hit the city to listen to jazz in clubs in the endless night. Over the years I have continued to read his books and letters and although I am much older (and hopefully wiser) now, I am still amazed at his visions and the care that he took to just write it all down. As WSB said Jack was a writer not an advertisement for Levi's. He was also as you said a flawed man but aren't we all in we're being honest? I miss Jack like a family member and it matters little to me what the haters say about him after all these years. Also agree that a lot of the authors you memtioned will have a rebirth with future generations in 10 or 20 years. Seekers and counterculture will return once the shit we are dealing with now is revealed as the plastic that it is. Love this substack and looking forward to part 2.
Nice article. I never read On the Road when I was a kid. It wasn’t until five years ago I read it. He took the kind of trip many of us wish they could have — but didn’t — sometime in our life. On a separate point, maybe some authors aren’t chic today. Hemingway comes to mind with his outsized life but if you read his short stories and work before For Whom the Bell Tolls, it’s beautifully written full of great ideas. If you neglect him, you’re only cheating yourself. Going back to On the Road. My favorite character: Dean aka Neil Cassidy. Outsized in so many ways.
Love your writing style and read with great interest all the afterward intelligent comments!
Thanks, Kerouac has been problematic; I'd put him with the emotion of Zappa's line, "went to Europe and fucked up there so decided to come home to my mothers". so your distinctions are helpful.
and, Kerouac is a hero to your essay on The BURNOUT SOCIETY; His beatitudes are for "la dolce far niete".
I read Kerouac before I took my first trip across country in 1960, from NYC. He made a great impression on me on freedom with sex, beatific, personal experiences he related. Kerouac enlightened me to contemporary thinking. I had three years of Cooper art college; five years living in the Yukon Wilderness, on the river, learning about hunting and gold panning. I read Hemingway, Mark Twain, plus the writer from the south east and one from California, who brought a dog to the gold fields. Names I forgot but which you will know instantly. Remember the author in Ca. whose family came from Serbia? He wrote a book comprised of letters from him to his family. Thanks for bringing me back to those days, where I ought to start my memoir. I wasn't patient for keeping a journal. Now I know how important a journal is to a writer, an artist, an adventurer.
Could you recommend any of his works to start with, for someone who likes Burroughs?
1. We do have a distinct counterculture in American life: believing Christians.
2. I compare the incongrousness of Kerouac's elevation to the status of Our Great Rebel with Che Guevara's prominence as a stenciled visage on clothing. After his death, Guevara's rockstar look made him an inarticulable symbol of something finely hippie, the best of hippie, which was ironic for a man with a murder habit to his reputation.
Kerouac was really a conservative , right leaning that hung out with the lefties. I reject your comment that Kerouac wasn’t really hip to jazz. I’m sure you know David Amram, who was very close to Kerouac, his words were that Jack was very melodious and knowledgeable of melody etc. His rhythm with the typewriter and his textual phrases are very swinging, so I again question your remark of Kerouac’s musical soul. I found his letters to be the most informative towards his struggles with life, money, fame and spirituality. (Jmo)
My wife introduced me to On the Road when we were still dating (across the Atlantic), sending it with the explanation that she always keeps a copy on hand for "literary emergencies". We both love the passage in the video. When the need arises, this is the version we listen to: https://youtu.be/3LLpNKo09Xk
I should mention that I arrived here after enjoying your interview with Rick Beato. When you were discussing the importance of having high expectations of your audience, I kept thinking, "Yes, but if you create smart, interesting content, your audience will self-select as smart, interested people."
fantabulous! here's how I celebrated jack on my radio show, "Puget Soundz" on his 100th!:
https://www.mixcloud.com/bruce-greeley/puget-soundz-tribute-to-jack-kerouac-the-beats/
Sad, immature, weak, not very good at communication, a little lost in this world. But with a good heart and lust for life. When I went on the road Kerouac was not the guide I was looking for, nor was Henry Miller, but I still read all they had written. They were good discussion partners (like you are).
I realized I had to make my own journey.