Original manuscript scroll of "On The Road" (Photo by Thomas Hawk) On September 5, 1957, Viking Press published Jack Kerouac's seminal "On The Road." On that day, as Kerouac's girlfriend at the time said, "Jack went to bed obscure and woke up famous." His stream-of-consciousness tale of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty's cross-country adventures resonated with readers, making him an instant literary sensation and poster child for the Beat Generation. Kerouac wrote the novel in just three weeks, fueled by coffee and Benzedrine, and the manuscript shows his fevered pace: It is typed -- single-spaced, without paragraphs -- on a single 120-foot scroll of paper. But Kerouac had actually been researching -- or living -- the story for years. The characters are thinly-veiled versions of himself and fellow travelers through the mid-century counterculture of sex, drugs, alcohol, and jazz. Fifty years later, "On The Road" is reborn, uncensored. The real names of Kerouac's characters have been restored -- Carlo Marx is Allen Ginsberg, Old Bull Lee is William S. Burroughs, Moriarty is Neal Cassady, and Paradise is Kerouac -- along with the explicit sexual content omitted in 1957. The re-release also reverts to Kerouac's original unconventional narrative form, giving readers an even more personal glimpse into the author's mind and the infamous experiences of the famous Beat Generation. Suggested Sites... OnTheRoad.org - the touring exhibit of Kerouac's manuscript. Dharma Beat - Kerouac's life and literature. Includes lots of articles, links, and Kerouac-related events. Kerouac Speaks - sound clips of the author speaking, including reading (and singing) his work. The Beat Page - all about the writers of the Beat Generation and their stories.

Directory categories: On the Road, Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation Authors, Beat Generation

Archived under: American History, Authors, Counterculture, Drugs, Literature, Poetry

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