Jack Kerouac was an American writer, poet and artist whose spontaneous prose style, personal and spiritual mythology, and countercultural tendencies helped make him the figurehead of the Beat Generation. His seminal novel On the Road was published in 1957 and quickly earned him worldwide fame and notoriety.
Notable Works
Jack Kerouac on The Steve Allen Show
Here is a clip from a 1985 documentary, "Kerouac, the Movie." The footage is of Jack Kerouac as he is interviewed by Steve Allen in 1959. He was labeled a "beat writer," but he insists everything he wrote is true. It is an interesting opportunity to hear Kerouac reciting his own poetry.
Jack Kerouac Timeline
March 12, 1922: Born in Lowell, Massachusetts
1926: Kerouac's brother Gerard dies of Rhuematic Fever at age 9
1939: Moves to New York City to attend Columbia University
1942: Joins the United States Merchant Marine
1944: Marries Edie Parker. There marriage was annulled a year later
1950: Publishes his first novel The Town and the City.
1951: Writes On the Road in three weeks.
1957: On the Road is finally published by Viking Press
1958: The novel The Dharma Bums is published.
1969: Dies of cirrhosis of the liver in St. Petersburg, Florida
References
Fast Facts
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Name
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac
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Fictional Alter-Egoes
Sal Paradise, Jack Duluoz
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Born
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Birthplace
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Died
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Location
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Literary Genre
Beat Literature
