How to begin reading Jack Kerouac

They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes 'Awww!” - By Jack Kerouac (On the Road).

The beat generation artists were inspired by British Romanticism and explored new frontiers, and experimented with all forms of narcotics. They created some really wacky and colloquial prose and poetry from everyday life and emotions. Jack Kerouac’s poetry never fails to numb a reader’s senses. The Modern Library ranked his novel On the Road 55th on its list of the 100 best English language novels from the twentieth century. The book is autobiographical; it describes the journeys of Sal and Dean from New York to the West Coast, to Mexico, and a trip by Dean to New York to meet Sal. It also shows varied emotions and their changing relationship during their journeys. It also highlights an era of jazz and Sal who is believed to be the alter-ego of Kerouac is caught by the travel bug and he writes, “Somewhere along the line I knew there would be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.”

Jack Kerouac’s prose is easy to read; however not everybody can digest his wry and as-a-matter-of-fact humor and statements. The beauty of his works lies in his expressions. While some literary critics call his writings passé, most people vouch by the fact that his expressions are timeless and haunting. Not everybody can weave a tale of passionate friendship the way he describes On the Road; it is a far cry from passé. It is a one-of-its-kind piece of work. He wrote across a diversified range of topics: drugs, promiscuity, Buddhism, poverty, and the Catholic belief.

Kerouac inspired singers like Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison and writers like Thomas Pynchon, Haruki Murakami, and many others. His works are On the Road, Doctor Sax, The Dharma Bums, Mexico City Blues, The Subterraneans, Desolation Angels, Visions of Cody, and Big Sur. He died young and his popularity seems to be ever-increasing. He was also an inspiration for the Hippie movement although he never related to it and expressed immense disdain towards it. Ironically enough, his works shocked publishers and society with their discussions on homosexuality and drug abuse. Post-war America was not prepared to deal with these topics and society raised a brow every time such topics dominated a movie, discussion, or a piece of literature.

In Bob Dylan’s words - ‘These times they are a changing’, the world has changed and today Kerouac remains a cult figure ever inspiring the young to take a plunge towards life itself and in all its glory.