Actual letter that Jack Kerouac typed and sent to Neal Cassady on March 25, 1957. Neal and Carolyn Cassady were living at Los Gatos and Kerouac often visited them there. Looks like Jack typed his letter but added a few handwritten PS extras. His wish to move to California is clearly apparent and his disenchantment…
More Beat Scene First Words
It was 1972 when I first heard of Compendium Bookshop in London. I was 21. [I was saving hard for a first trip to the USA]. In love with my idea of America and I’d not long discovered Jack Kerouac. [Thanks to Mr. Smith at evening classes and my pal Mart Postlethwaite, we shared…
Beat Extras
Just heard that the English performer Heath Common has died aged 69. Heath made a string on albums in recent years, much of it centred around members of the Beat Generation. A memorable track, for me at least, is WHY TRUCK DRIVERS RISE EARLIER THAN STUDENTS OF ZEN, a take on the Gary Snyder poem….