Desolation Kerouac: Wrestling with Demons in ‘Desolation Peak’
Jack Kerouac’s posthumous Desolation Peak establishes that Kerouac was more than a road warrior out for kicks. Or some wayward beatnik.
jack kerouac
Smoking Saved My Life: A Skinny Jewish Kid Comes of Age in the Haze of American Violence
As cool as Marlon Brando, James Dean, Jack Kerouac or Dalton Trumbo, rebel Max "Flaco" Greenbaum grows up in Watts Riots-Vietnam-draft-era L.A. Too smart (and smart-mouthed) for school, the violence of this world is drawn in deep and lingers like the long, slow, life-saving drag of a cigarette.
On Making Sense of the World at Jack Kerouac’s Directive
Reading Jack Kerouac, I saw in living flesh all of the Cody Pomerays, Dean Moriartys, Sal Paradises, and Alvah Goldbooks in every sailor I bunked with, each and all from every corner of America, revealing all and true as only comrades can do in the cocoon of shared experience.
The Beat Goes on with ‘Kerouac on Record’
These essays explore the connection between Kerouac and the music he loved -- Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Miles Davis and others -- and the musicians who loved him, in turn.
‘Blues and Haikus’ Captures Jack Kerouac at a Transitional Phase in His Career
Blues and Haikus captures Jack Kerouac at a high point even when he was already starting to slip away from us.
Looking for the Real in America through the Art of Robert Frank
American Witness anecdotally demonstrates Frank's far reaching influence. RJ Smith's skills as a storyteller make this an engaging journey.
As a Way of Being in the World, to Be Cool Is to Be a Fascinating Asshole
Cool seems to be a phenomenon located mainly between the end of Hitler’s war and the beginning of Kurt Cobain’s band.
Detachment and Re-attachment: The Mind of a Hermit No More
Christopher Knight disappeared into the woods at the age of 20 and returned at 47 without a masterpiece, without a testimony of life’s greater purpose, without anything profound to convey.
‘Bukowski In a Sundress’ Is a Book You Should Judge By Its Cover
Kim Addonzio's memoir in essay ain't no summer beach read. Be very happy.
The Long Journey and Many Masks of William S. Burroughs
Barry Miles' Call Me Burroughs may the best biography written about the man to date.
‘Big Sur’ Brings Kerouac to the Screen with Fury and Force
Michael Polish's adaptation of Jack Kerouac's novel is a perfect example of how a flowing, Beat classic can be transcribed to the screen with its spirit intact.