Through my readings of authors like Kerouac and Henry Miller I had a romantic idea of poverty, perpetual change, and wandering from here to there without clinging to anything. But when, due to a series of circumstances, I was finally able to experience all of this, it turned out to be a painful and very stressful experience.
Kerouac was gifted/cursed with being hyper sensitive to the human condition. Not just of the contemporary society his life took place in but also the suffering and longings since the first slouched out of the cave. He seemed to see the ‘angel’ aura glowing from everyone he witnessed but was extremely critical and hard on himself. There is a certain state of mind that a person can suffer from that is intrinsic to their entire being and that is the deep perpetual nostalgia. Not the kind of nostalgia that recalls apple pie and drive in movies, rather, it’s the nostalgia that persistently recalls the milk of the womb or a certain taste of a wash of color, or the shape of the leaves as they went shadow and swayed about cutting the light for no reason other than to spell eternity, and it said ‘Remember’. Throughout Kerouac work you will notice clear juxtapositions that split down to the root of every commitment he makes. He was charged with a burden the same as Moses or Abraham or Buddha or old Benny Lonesome down the street to beat it up that hill. What was it he said, ‘ I saw in the clouds huge and massed above the fiery golden desert of eveningfall the great image of God with forefinger pointed straight at me through halos and rolls and gold folds that were like the existence of the gleaming spear in His right hand, and sayeth, Go thou across the ground; go moan for man; go moan, go groan, go groan alone go roll your bones, alone; go thou and be little beneath my sight; go thou, and be minute and as seed in the pod, but the pod the pit, world a Pod, universe a Pit; go thou, go though, die hence; and of this world report you well and truly.’ Like Kerouac, I lost my brother at a young age and something like that will force you to question, no, obsess over the meaning or reason of existence. It will force you to question good and evil or if any of it matters and either way you may or may not be left standing there separated somehow from your own ghost, everything decorated to be called what it is as opposed to the million and one things it is not, and ‘could it stop’ and put to great labor so that no guilty bone will be put in the mud when the eyes widen, as they do at the first and final astonishment. And it is all astonishing and you rage to the dying of the light and as bright as the light may be, you are keen on the truth if it’s equal darkness and when it all is too much you will be want a soft embrace or somewhere close to the womb and it will never be as soft as you want it and so you go setting about slouched toward October(October is a ‘theme’ that comes up frequently in his work and he also passed away in October. October, for me anyway, has that ‘last call’ feeling, when you pack away the lust of summer with the romance of…..I don’t know exactly but there is an anticipation and sort of resigned courage that colors that season that begins in October. When splitting the wood and baking the bear doesn’t seem too great a task and suddenly trading the safety of home and employment for a flat spot in the dark part of the woods and jumping back on the chain of survival seems almost necessary. It’s when the feminine and the masculine equal out or become unnecessary to even mention and you see what it is you want and it is clear because you want nothing at all. Jack was too sensitive to have it any other way. He spent it all on heaven but no way could he witness that glowing ripple even out into….what? How could he outlive his mother? The connection to the womb. Alcohol was just a symptom of feeling and having felt so much. For having reached for so much and hoped for so much and seen so much. He may have felt miserable in the end, I don’t know, but he wasn’t miserable.
I am reading On The Road these days and I am glad i've seen this comment. I lost my father a year ago and i really don't know what to do with life. I feel so close to Kerouac and his writing and this comment made me understand what he was thinking, and what i was feeling. Thank you.
@@zisandeniz5287 thank you. Of course, my comment was written from a place that feels a certain kinship to Kerouac, that is, the Kerouac that he gave us through his work and I’ll take his word when he says, ‘All the stories I wrote were true because I believed in what I saw….’ There are certain writers, musicians, directors etc.(basically someone who isn’t only just great at what they do, but those who have tapped into that heart of things and can decipher that eternal hum and translate it back to us in one form or another. You know the type; You’ve all been down that walking bridge and hear a commotion ahead getting more and more vivid as you move toward and you pass by and it’s just somebody who is at least a half century from being believable, who wouldn’t look any different no matter who he was, trying to sell it to himself but what he is selling is way beyond discount….but then, on another walking bridge or the same you don’t hear a thing. You notice what everyone else seems to have noticed and you move in and see the stranger laying it bare with his instrument. A hundred or more people around, summertime early evening but all other sound is at attention and held like the breath because everyone wants to believe and has been waiting for the truth, that gospel to be spoke anyway anywhere and, god damnit, you know it when you hear it. So you lean in hoping this is confirmation and when some Teddy Wondercock comes snapping his fingers down the pike you automatically go to tapping your feet and catch the Holy Ghost, cause we all know the tune and we all know it’s better to sing it with somebody else. And, apologies for jumping all over the place with my reply and sorta getting off track but I just wanted to say that we aren’t forgetting anything. We aren’t wasting time or unsure of anything. We all are just doing our bit day by day trying to construct our big solo in that great Song of Songs. Maybe, it’s been a while since you’ve heard it. Maybe you are listening now but next time it comes around and it’s your turn, blow loud enough so that I can hear and hear it true! When it comes back around, pick me up and take me to heaven with you
Man, did you hit home with me brother. My experience with Jack started in 1980 while living in San Jose Cali. , my buddy Dave from Lowell Mass , part french canadian, who turned me on to Dharma Bums, followed by , On the Road, The Subterraneans, Dr. Sax, Jacks book, Ginsberg Howl , The electric acid Kool aid test etc.. etc..and of course BIg Sur. I managed to avoid the pitfalls of alcoholism and drugs. Went on the road for three years driving trucks with a crew and setting up marketing shows at malls throughout western USA with plenty of off time and living the life. That part of my life ended in 1992 when I visited Jacks remains in Lowell Mass where he lies. I went back into the world of stable employment in my mid thirties. Jacks spirit of adventure still lives in me. He is and was a great inspiration. I totally get how you feel about him. Thanks for the memories. Be well!!
You succinctly articulated a realization I arrived at not just about Kerouac, but the whole aimless nomadic life in general. As a "grown adult" in his 50s, I'm grateful that I put down some roots and took my younger life seriously enough to be "secure" now (whatever that means). I have SO many friends and acquaintances the same age as me that chose a life of aimlessness and adventure, and are now in an "oh shit, I effed up" phase of their life. To date I don't know a single person who pulled of a Kerouac-esque life. That said, I ABSOLUTELY agree that Kerouac is one of the best.
I've semi-skeptically attempted the aimless nomadic lifestyle after a 7+ year struggle to establish security. The "oh shit" moments hit me before my wandering ways (they continue to come just less shockingly so). The nomadic lifestyle did give me occasional sense of adventure and liveliness (few moments of happiness), but mostly helped me mourn the loss of my childhood aspirations to secure a nest in society (less unhappiness). There still may be time to establish roots, but it's late... I believe the Beat spirit can still continue on in forms outside of aimlessness. It certainly has helped me grow a sense of empathy, humor, spontaneity, and appreciation of simpler moments.
Jack was a fatalist. I think he always knew it would end badly. Perhaps that's why he kept moving, searching. Maybe for salvation, redemption. Who knows other than Jack? He lived for the moment keeping one eye on the exit. Could this be the door that would lead him to a new path, his rebirth? Where all was as it should be. Forever, eternally, at peace with himself. Wiser men than we have said ... "it's not the destination, it's the journey". That was his life. In the end Jack arrived right on schedule.
His goal was for people to read his words and feel. You felt it. He contributed that to you and all of us. If that is a dead end, I will circle around it till I die. Kerouac had empathy. He also saw the tragedy in the fact that all we know is that we are born and then we die. He wrote to illustrate this. He wrote to tell himself and the reader that we are all in this together. Beatitude. Beat. Sympathy. "Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream". - Ti Jean
To be fair most people are living uninspiring lives , it’s rare anyone gets it right. Everyone is here for different reasons learning different lessons , we aren’t having the same experiences or challenges nor are we meant to.
I am seventy. I discovered the Beats in college back in the Seventies. I wanted to be a "Beatnik" as a little kid in the Fifties. Not really getting where that all came from. I had been married twice and had a baby and was writing, painting and a hippie chick but not the typical. Anyway, as an older person the more I learned about J. Kerouac life I also found sad and too bad. I feel drugs and alcohol had a lot to do with his downfall as with many. As a young person I experimented but was really quite careful. I have not even smoked a cigarette in over thirty-five years. I think drugs and alcohol cloud your judgement and deteriorate your brain. I am a liberal minded person but I see this as truth. My experiences with psychedelics were interesting but were just really me looking for the spiritual. And I agree about the psychological issues Jack had. I have been on an eastern oriented spiritual path for years. I have practiced Yoga seriously, and studied Buddhism. Hinduism and was raised in Christianiy. Long story. But question is do you want to be a good Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or do you want to wake up? My answer for me is wake up. And even that I don't fix as a goal in some distant unknown future. Everything is NOW. But doesn't mean you can't plan to a degree or have some life goals. I am retired now and working on art, writing etc. But the spiritual path is the most important thing in my life. I have sold a few paintings and gotten a few things published in very minor ways. I am a widow and married thirty five years to love of my life. He was a spiritual teacher. I was teaching myself Yoga when we met and he was a master. But we were also very real people who ate potato chips and watched tv. Anyway, I agree with your conclusions about Jack. I also see Earth as a school for soul lessons. I hope he learned some lessons. He will be back, if he isn't already, to learn some more. I love hearing his readings with the jazz accompaniment. I haven't yet even read every novel . I met Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky back in college in the Seventies after a concert they did on my campus. Just briefly. My husband sat on the railroad track protesting with Ginsburg. I am still exploring and reading a lot about the Beats. I have been busy working, raising kids and grandkids, went through divorces as a young person and all, kinds of stuff. Used to want fame and fortune but now glad I never made it to that after what I see of those who do. I am doing an autobiography here, ha, but just to give some background to my views. Thank you for your perspective and thoughts.
Wow, thank you for all this info! Some time back I interviewed Tjinder Singh of the band Cornershop. Ginsberg wrote a piece and does spoken word (I think it's one of the most beautiful things he's ever done) on their album in 1998. It's titled "When the Light Appears Boy" and was I believe the last creative project he did before passing away. Thank you very much for your thoughts. Regarding spirituality, this channel is actually based around the spiritual path (albeit pathways that are kind of strange and hidden lol). I agree that the spiritual journey is the most sensible cornerstone for one's life.
Thank you for your thoughts, Jeff. I posted this podcast to my blog. When I was young and inbetween marriages, I lived a pretty wild (irresponsible) life which culminated in a 6 month road trip from Kansas to California and back one winter and spring, selling distributorships for a small electronics company. Life on the road is exciting but hard and lonely. I met the woman I have been married to for the last 40 years on that trip. Been a happy homebody ever since. As a young man, I romanticized the life of the writer. It wasn't until years later when I began to write for publication that I understood the amount of time and discipline required to turn out good work.
After I made this video I realized I was kind of trying to talk to my young self. I don’t regret the wild adventures I had necessarily, but I did try to extend them for too long. I thought it was a way to live for all of your days, and I wish I had had somebody to tell me that that is not true. Thanks for sharing your story. I would not have guessed that about you honestly. Cool to know. And congrats on finding a great woman ;)
@@appleknockerradio9512 I'm so far from the On The Road lifestyle that I don't even drive anymore. I'm old, Brother. But I still have a valid license😀 --K.C. Knouse
A lot of people tend to overlook how much he struggled on the road too. How he ended up freezing and crying with no shoes, poor and hungry. It wasn’t always a magnificent journey but we romanticize the best parts. He almost died in Mexico. His time in Big Sur was miserable and depressing and he went deeper and deeper into the bottle. Very sad. I agree with the PTSD and that he never fully grieved. I think he, like many of the greatest intellectual writers and artists were too sensitive and fragile for this world.
I think best writers in the world had a traumatic childhood and many had quite miserable lives for several reasons: being highly sensitve, having high capacities and a history of trauma. Dickens, Dovstoievski...writting is therapeutic. It's a way to dump your trauma without being rejected if you are good at writting. Without talent, instead of an artist, a person with trauma doesn't fit in society or end up being a social and political warrior, and addict or a weirdo. Wars, poverty, alcoholic parents...there are so many people traumatized and the worst thing is that those people have children and they pass their biterness like a generational curse.
I read all of Kerousc's books and poetry and many of the countless biographies about him. All I got out of it was an ongoing hangover. The earlier crisp stream of consciousness later devolved into a dried riverbed of inebreiated rubbish. The writing fell prey and victim to the undisciplined lifestyle. And to see him totally blitzed and slurring on the late sixties Wm. F. Buckley show was truly sad. He drank himself to death.
I have to say that I love Jack Kerouac as a person too much to be quite that harsh, but I can see validity, and what you are saying. I do believe his potential would have been fulfilled better if he had not gotten possessed by the booze
@@appleknockerradio9512 Keep your love for one so deserving. It's so kind of you to say that. In that way Kerouac's influence was a good thing. I'll build on that thought. Thanks.
@@sunkintree Jack said he drank because he was too Catholic to commit suicide. He wanted to kill himself, so he did it slowly by drinking. I'm no stranger to the ravages of drinking, it affects us all. Sometimes we can pull out of it, sometimes we don't. It's just such a sad embrace all around. Hate to see it take anyone. RIP Jack.
@@Jahnink I really liked Town and the City, but he was more original in his later works, and his later works are much better. It shows incredible talent that his first work was such a great pastiche of an already popular and respected author, but if that's all he was ever capable of I don't think we would be remembering him at all It's like bands. Everyone starts out doing covers and writing in the style of their heroes. Real artists grow out of that and do something all their own though.
i was already 40 when i discovered Kerouac and the reason i liked him is because i cried when i read the road . i was reading my life and my life was lonely and broke on the streets of los angeles and i knew this man went threw hell cause i did. it was like i wrote a biography of my life. alcohol was my friend,,, I been to five 90-day programs and i still drink today at 70 . i still cry when i hear or read about his life ,,,,,people have no real idea of his pain and suffering for those 30 years. it sickens me to see all these people making money off kerouacs life. AND to celebrate the life of casidy is a real joke. my conclusion is that people celebrating keroac dont even know kerouac. the jack kerouac museum in san fran is quite the conundrum.
Thank you sharing this, sir. I visited the Florida house he was living in when he died. It’s preserved as it was when he lived there. Emotional and surreal to stand next to his favorite recliner. Thanks again for sharing your story and insights
Many years ago I was playing my harp with some street musicians down in Lowell, Ma. during the annual folk festival there. I met a member of the Sampas family who told me that Jack suffered a terrible beating outside of a bar in St. Petersburg, Florida just before he died. He was bleeding internally & didn't know it. He mentioned ( in some audio) being thrown out of a bar on the west coast. Back at home he continued to drink Johnny Walker straight out of the bottle and that was it. I worked my way to the west coast & back in 1969. I drank on the streets of San Francisco and I saw those winos "spitting in the broken glass" down at 3rd & Howard. I got back to Boston just in time for Woodstock. Rest in Peace.. Desolate Angel...
Beautiful stuff. And yes, I believe that beating is likely the one that gave him the hernia that ended up leading to his death. I visited the house he was living in. It’s currently being turned into a historic site.
My impression was that he was intentionally drinking himself to death. He was likely depressed after being deployed as useful idiot by the establishment to bring about all the pseudo mainstream counter-cultural movements that ensured after the publication of the On the Road.
Vonnegut did a little blurb essay about the time he met Kerouac. It's in "Wompeters, Foma, and Granfaloons" a collection of miscellaneous essays. I think it would complement your argument here. But no one gets out alive and of all the people that destroyed themselves in order to find some meaning in life, he's in good company. Few people live all the way to the end without eventually contradicting themselves, although if you sit tight in your hometown and never take any risks or explore the world around you, your chances are certainly a lot better.
I will definitely track that down. That's one of the only Vonnegut books I haven't read. And your point is well-taken. Life is full of folly and human blindness...even (and perhaps especially) among literary geniuses.
Ty for getting back to me. I could go on about your subject matter quite a bit here, I remember when life in America was more free and easy, and people used to hitchhike across the country without worrying about whether they had health coverage or what it would do to their career prospects. I'm still reeling at how much everything has changed in my lifetime. Stay strong, be cool. @@appleknockerradio9512
By reading Kerouac, I was introduced to an understanding that, beforehand, I was unaware of. This understanding alters consciousness. Whether I remember anything about the books or Kerouac is irrelevant. What is provided is a heightened awareness of who I am.
The FREE-FLOW conciousness and thought and way of writing I developed from Kerouac and Burroughs!! It created a monster out of me!! Sentence structure and all that went out the window when I began just writing in notebooks and going pages and pages! It's a GIFT!!! But as for communication with others? Like txt or just small chat! I can seem manic at times because of it. Once you open that valve! It just FLOWS and that's how it is always now
I don't think anyone ever said that you should live like Jack does in On The Road forever. There's even a divide that Jack emphasises between his working (normal) life in New York and his life out on the road, such as in part ii when he returns to his Aunt's apartment in New York and finds his unfinished manuscript on his desk. My only caution to people who want to live On The Road is not to pick up nasty habits that could seep into your normal life once you return.
Love this, spot on with so many points. Very similar path trodden by myself, taking huge inspiration from him as a young 17-year old and English major. Took me most of my 20s to come around to the philosophy and recognize that dead end.
Helping my extended family clean and sell stuff in their basement that’s been in boxes for decades. In one box was a bunch of Kerouac’s books. I’ve heard the name over the years, but I didn’t know anything about him. Yours was the first video I’m watching. Thanks for the info. I think I’m going to have to read On The Road.
You have no idea the sense of responsibility I have to hear that I was the first person you heard talk about Kerouac LOL for real for people like me Kerouac is legendary status. Definitely check him out. People tend to love him or hate him. If you do happen to read the book and recall this comment I love to hear what you think
@@HotTakeAndy awesome. And sorry for all those whacky typos in my first response...talk to text (lol). I really would love to hear what you think. The way Jack lived...that vision...that approach to life....I'm always curious how it comes across to new readers and (by the looks of your pic) younger folks. Would love to hear it.
I don't think most people understand how much Jack's trip impacted the 1960s. A huge portion of those kids were trying to do what Jack did. Dylan was heavily influenced by Jack (though he later said he came to view Jack's way as being 'kind of pointless), and Dylan was then a major influence on the 60s. The 60s counterculture was really a mutation of the Beats.
When I was touring with my band, I had my copy of ON THE ROAD (scroll edition) and I was actually driving down the SAME STREETS n roads he was WALKING DOWN back in the 40's!!! It added soooo much more depth to the novel! I even got people to sign my book! When I'd give an autograph, i'd sez "sure ill sign ur CD n shirt!... you gotta do me a favor and I want your signature 1st in my book here!"
Ha, very cool story! I also went up to the North Cascades to trace his steps from Desolation Angels, and I have been in the house he was living in when he died…which is now being made into a historical site. Really neat inside. His old recliner was still in the living room, the one he mentioned in his writing a couple times.
@AppleKnockerRadio Thank you for adding your critique. I have just finished reading On the Road. At first, I can see & feel the ecstasy of life in Kerouac’s work while simultaneously appreciating how well he describes his real life experiences through his characters. But it wasn’t until I happened upon your viewpoint that I am to contextualize it as a young author’s book with an adventurer’s time limit given your parallel travels & lifestyle.
It’s beautiful for what it is. I just wish when I was a kid someone had tapped me on the shoulder and given me some perspective. “Desolation Angels” is great prose but even at that point you could feel Kerouac feeling at a dead end (in my opinion anyway).
Sleeping in “hotels” on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn that were just grim. Punching taxi driver hanging out his taxi window as he’s trying to drive in Marrakesh for not giving me my change after agreeing a price. Yeah. Haha. Good times. I’m 32 and I’m not done. I’m going to try get to Ukraine. But I’m not in the position right now. Either that or the USA before it collapses.
I love Kerouac's writing. His spontaneous prose is magical. The way he captures life's exuberance is inspiring. Great point about his lifestyle becoming a dead end. We all have to be weary of self-deception. Tom Berenger had a great line in Platoon, "there's the way it ought to be, there's the way it is." I get lost in my head somedays, standing atop my own wishing well... Then it's time to pay the bills, have some real goals instead of pining for what I want. Jack's books have enhanced my way of thinking, he's definitely one of my all time favorites. To quote Jack: "Remember- the flashing exhilirated maddening discoveries and truths of youth," the experience is there, but sometimes you feel like you came away empty handed. It's good to reevaluate and see what you're aiming for.
Yes, a very astute point: "He went chasing a dead end." I had that feeling at the end of each of his books. He remained cowering among the rocks 'almost near the top' while Gary S. made it to the summit (Dharma Bums). Thank you for your thoughts.
@@appleknockerradio9512 would love to connect further. I am very devoted to Kerouac in my work as a healer and Im writing my second book immersed in Kerouac. Would love to share with you. Much of what you shared is right in alignment with what im working on with him and my bill and my clients. If you are open let me know and we’ll connect in some way that’s appropriate
Any chance you've read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, Michael? I have these ideas about statements McCarthy was making in that book about Kerouac and his archetypal lineage....so just curious.
I really appreciate your analysis man, it's really logical and enlightening. To be honest, I used to have this mentality of dont care at all, and lived most of my tweenties on the road. The concept of using every moment to make sure that I enjoy the max possible, and not letting a single chance slip away; is pretty much exhausting as well. I ve read on the road and even watched the movie, I have read Alan ginsberg and the most works delivered by the beat generation. I can say that I agree with what you said mostly and I don't recommend to take Jack Kerouac's life style as a harpoon or philosophy of life. Especially young ppl, cuz it may sound crazy and so full of Adrinaline and testo but really bad things happen during the chasing of that road. I'm a young writer, believe me if I said that I was same as Kerouac, Charles bukowski, and many other figures. It helped me to a certain time in my writings but sometimes you just say till when? You get tired of all that party life, the endless sex, women, alcohol and drugs. There comes a day when you realize that you took another path totally different than the one wich can make you happy with your life.
Agree across the board. I spent a good portion of my life, trying to seize the day in a very nihilistic and self indulgent way. It doesn’t lead anywhere. Actually, that’s not true, it leads to personal exhaustion, as you just said, in a sense of total purposelessness. It’s like William Blake said, the road to access leads to the palace of wisdom, which I interpret to mean that they pushing the limits, and you realize that it was all pointless to begin with and then you can bring yourself back to the center. just my thoughts on it. But anyway, thank you very much for this message.
Very interesting analysis and comments on Kerouac, helped me understand him, reflect on him, and have thought the same from the start. Sad life of a brilliant artist.
Thanks, Anthony. When I made this video, I think I had about 35 subscribers, 5 of which actually watched my stuff (ha). It's so neat that this somehow has gotten almost 2k views and I get to hear from people....great to see Jack is still loved. I wasn't really thinking anyone would watch my video, so I didn't think too deeply about my wording...but I do hope my appreciation of him as an artist and my love for him as a seeker came through. I think of him more like a brother than a hero now (except as a writer...as a writer still a hero), but I will always feel a deep affection for that doomed, beautiful soul.
Jack Kerouac was a literary genius who changed pop culture forever. Would The Beat-les have been so named without Jack? Maybe, maybe not, but he's influenced a legion of writers. I think that he should have stuck to Buddhism, at least it would have accommodated his homosexuality. Alcohol, (the most banal of all drugs) sucked the muse out of him. It's sad to see how his personal life turned out. I suspect he suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder and was obsessed by narcissists. I don't think it was his itinerancy that doomed him, simply the alcohol. I do not regret my years of "wandering" ~they've provided me with a depth and breadth of life experience which is the basis of everything I write now. I could not write until my "tank" was full. Rest in Paradise, Jack.
Nailed it. Mostly. I think the substance abuse was less about being wild, and more about managing his extreme sensitivities. Seems like self-medication run amok.
Thanks, Chris. It's funny when I made this I was getting less than 10 views...NEVEr expected this to blow up and felt really self-conscious as a result. I really appreciate hearing when it's positive for people. Thank you.
Hola, Dan. All my most notable publications were fantasy/sci-fi, but I get the feeling if you came to a Kerouac vid you're more of a literature guy. I have also published poetry and literature, but for the last few years it's almost entirely self-publishing (I just got tired of the submission process, to be honest). What's your usual interest?
I discovered Kerouac over 30 years ago and always look for new information about the Columbia Beat Generation and partners/affiliates. Lots of good comments here. What stands out to me are the comments of Carolyn (partner of Neal aka Dean M.) about how Jack realised relatively early on he would not have a stable family. He was either off, or with his mother. After 1957, he achieved fame with On the Road, but the years before that were a drought with the exception of a minor novel and one unpublished until after death. With Big Sur, the events taking place in 1962, we see the price of overnight fame. A weakened guy, who spent a couple of months firewatching in total isolation in 1957, is suddenly hounded and by 1962 is missing dinner with Henry Miller and going mad in a small cabin. By 1969 he has drunk himself to death age 47. That's a pretty extreme timeline. The point is that Kerouac was a fast burning flame who had experienced it 80% before 1957 and could only retreat to his mother or oblivion or both. By the sixties, the merchant seaman of 1944 and his Inspirations were long gone. Big Sur is a great, if sobering book about destructive genius and long cab trips with the brakeman's lantern and waking up in strange places.
I read all his books in my late teens - early twenties. In my 50s now. I still see Jack as a great writer, a great artist....the traveling, I don't really see it as a negative....Jack was not always traveling....he just wrote about it a lot.... anyway, I will say, as I'm older now, my reverence for him has somewhat diminished...I still find him to be an artist of great creativity and thought....but as a person, it feels like maybe he never fully matured emotionally...always kind of adolescent, his maturity stunted by the drinking, which is common for alcoholics....and you hear how he was living in the last part of his life, just living as a drunk.... it's a shame.....so I relate to these feelings you have....there is something to be said for moderation. But as an artist there is no reason we shouldn't celebrate his work and aspire to it, of course many of the greatest artists ever had similar issues, but for me personally, that doesn't take away from the impact of the work and the enjoyment I find in it..
I think the lifestyle that Jack lived and described in his books is appealing for many people/men especially. I’m a single guy in my early 30’s, and I am intrigued by this lifestyle, and have done a good amount of rambling so far in my life. Especially with the dynamic of society as it is right now the lure of a rambling life is appealing. But I do recognize how the consumption of alcohol and hard drugs can and most likely will deteriorate and worsen your experience. I wonder if Jack could have continued being a nomad/rambler/writer for many more years if he would have done it without the use of alcohol and drugs.
Yes, I think you make a good point. When I made this video, I seriously had bout 30 subscribers and no videos with more than like views (lol)....I would have been more thorough if I knew this thing would get so much attention. But, I have contemplated what you're saying, both for Jack and myself (part of me does still yearn for the rambling lifestyle), and I do indeed believe a distinction should be drawn between doing just that vs. doing that while abusing drugs and alcohol. I honestly believe Jack might have been well-suited to becoming a Catholic monk (or any other kind of monk). I personally think his substance addiction is what derailed what could have been a beautiful life trajectory.
@Appleknocker Radio yeah, I think you covered your points well, there are just a lot of complexities to it. I think he would have been a suited for a type of monk existence as well, and could have lived to a very old age while continue to practice his travels and ideologies. But yea, in truth, I think you’re right about the rambling lifestyle being somewhat unsustainable. It can be very freeing and amazing but also very lonely and tiresome. I guess you could get used to it but the west and tear on your body and mind could get to you as you get older. Add alcohol and drug abuse to the already present difficulties of being on the road and you can encounter some major difficulties for sure.
@Appleknocker Radio and it is interesting how this subject has so much more attention and interest relative to your other videos and content. I wonder why that is..
I actually returned to Jack in my 30s. And I am glad I did. His writing is very good to remind ourselves that adventure and exploration are key parts to a happy life. Have you gotten to Dr. Sax yet? That’s a really interesting when it’s unlike any other book he wrote. Magic realism
Jack did state on the Firing Line TV program in '68 that the hippies were "good kids" and "better than the Beats". That may have been in a more tolerant moment as he fluctuated from objective moments to hardly veiled hostility. But his alcoholism coupled with his exhaustion of life guaranteed an early passing. I'm a bit surprised he made it as long as he did. A very complex and tortured man but then many supreme artists are in that boat. God bless and RIP Jack.
Well, he was trying to get to heaven but in life he just kept seeing things whither and decay and become lost. He was like a babe kicking in the womb and alcohol was his milk. He said what he had to say and left quiet an impression….was my impression
And the reason he was dismissive, disruptive and apathetic, possibly, is that what he wrote and was peddling was sacred. The hippies came along and they were good kids and had the fire in their gut but they were taking only the excesses of his gospel and the hedonistic aspect and throwing the rest out with the bong water. He states, on firing line, that he is a Republican and he wasn’t lying. I don’t think he was bitter but I think he may have been a bit envious of their youth and all that it entails.
@@jamieflowers1493 yeah, I believe he says, ‘The hippies are good kids’ If I’m remembering correctly. Have you listened to his discussion, ‘Is there a bear generation?’ I recommend it if you haven’t
Kerouac joined a long list of people who struggled with the realization after years of searching that life has no meaning other than that which you give it. If you can accept that you can live, love and enjoy life as it is not as others wish it were. I'm 66, raised and educated a couple of kids and me and the wife still hit the road somewhere in the world every couple of years for 3-6 months. There is no reason to straighten up and confine yourself to the burbs as old mate seems to be suggesting.
I really enjoyed your video. I had always thought it so tragic how he ended up. My favorite video of him was his appearance on the Steve Allen show. Allen playing piano and Jack reading from On the Road.
Just reading this comment section reminds me of my time in San Francisco and traveling up and down the coast, etc. etc. This was mid 80s for 10 years. As an artist and engineer, the creative energy was incredible. It was also well into the hippie idealism turning very dark and held no appeal. You touched on Buddhism, which I began studying, practicing around then, it's really easy to fall into nihilism if left to ones own western-mind devices. It's fairly common. Back in the before the 50s and for several decades thereafter, there wasn't much in the way of teachers, books, etc. Now, there's too much information and westernized misinterpretation. I was fortunate to find the SFZC at that time. Sadly, it's changed too much and I live in Chicago now. What I learned at that time continues to serve me well. Your post is a great message to the yutes (sorry, your honor, yooothes) and anyone who gets too far gone in romantic ideas. E.g. people that have died trying to reach the bus from the book/movie _Into the Wild, or followed The Dead or Phish etc.etc. "You are perfect as you are, and could use a little improvement " - Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Thank you. I made this when I had less than 100 subscribers (I think less than 50) and never expected it to get more than a couple dozen views. It's honestly reassuring to me to hear that I expressed myself well.
The tradition seems to have died with Kerouac. Or maybe just the interest in the rambling poet archetype. Not sure, but that way of exuberant, distinctly American road writing seems to have died with Jack. Mantle taken up to a degree by bob Dylan and such but that too has died. Perhaps symptom of larger American disillusion with the sheer thrill of being alive? Not sure. Whitman’s Song of Joys is one of my favorite poems ever.
@@appleknockerradio9512 I have 65 books by/or about Jack Kerouac and about 160 books by/or about Ernest Hemingway. I even met Norman Mailer years ago. I do not know what this says about me, but I do have a lot of books.
@@davidwilson410 It means you’re a man with some great sense! You actually met mailer? Oh man that is fascinating. Definitely don’t wanna put you on the spot here but that is actually the kind of thing I love to interview people about, so if you did have any little interest in discussing that I’d love to hear it. But even if not, that is really fascinating. Did you ever see that story about where he got in that really violent fight during the making of a film? That’s one of the craziest damn story I’ve ever heard
And also, I absolutely love Hemingway short stories. I may be a bit of a heretic care but I actually believe her short stories are better than his novels.
to be fair, he sent as much money to his mother as she did him. i still like him and i agree if i'd found his books when i was a teen i might not be here right now because i was already in a dangerous state of mind (skipped school with a friend and went hitch hiking just for kicks in 9th grade. i had a blast, met interesting people, ALMOST went to chicago.) got in major trouble the next day because skipping school is bad (no one knew about the hitching except for our other friends.) Jack was and is someone i can heavily relate to on multiple levels except for the drinking. i do not imbibe nor do i indulge in any substance. i don't believe he wrote with intentions to influence anyone. he was simply sharing his experience. some of them were pretty funny (his days as a police officer) another element is... that time period is identical to the one we're in now. the youth were the same as we have now. he didn't see a future. most young people don't. his father died when he was young, he had no basis for comparison. most kids today are in the same boat with delinquent fathers. it's a terrible situation for the youth of the world, just like it was then. Jack's father died of stomach cancer, others were lost to war... or just lost in general. that loss often leaves a person rudderless and desperate. that's how you end up with someone like Kerouac. there is psychology to it. but if you don't study psychology then yeah you might easily be influenced by someone like this. because again.... you'll naturally seek a father figure (or sometimes a mother, depends on which is missing) but you won't have the discernment required. my own male influences were Jack London(fatherless) John Lennon (also fatherless, and the hitch hiking idea was his fault) and John Wayne (had a good father and a terrible mother).. yes i was a weird kid. i didnt and still don't like anything modern or popular. i will always have my head in the previous decades. what can i say? I'm an artist. we're entitled to strangeness! For Jack Kerouac's part, he struck me as gentle and curious. he was always searching for something, but even he didn't know what. He got to experience fatherhood, sure. but again, he had no basis for comparison. it's foolish, as i found out, to look to the lost for influence. The only thing that saved me from going down a worse path was ... here it comes... JESUS. THE Father. THE example. Don't laugh. i'm lucky to be alive. so are a lot of people. i've found what i was searching for, and that is unconditional love that only a father can give. Going out into the world and having adventures and stories to tell is one thing. abusing yourself or others, there is nothing good about it. you punish yourself for mistakes you made - but would you have made then if you'd had better influences and examples? You see no future? Well, you have to build it, just like a house. Good foundation, solid roof, good insultation, warmth, food, lots of rooms occupied by the people you love.
This is a great, thoughtful video about my favorite novelist. However, I don't think it's completely true that Kerouac's life was miserable in his later years because of his On the Road lifestyle. Kerouac was an alcoholic. He would have been an alcoholic if he'd stayed in Lowell and worked as a banker his entire life. In some of his books he's practically begging for someone/something to "cure" him of it. Many of his friends, leading similar lifestyles (Ginsberg, Gary Snyder--who is still alive and very well--and others), did not live and die in misery. Alcoholism is a disease. I don't know that anyone really "beats" it, even if they manage to stop drinking. To discredit that kind of nomadic, non-comformist lifestyle (which was in many ways a great contribution to our culture) because alcoholism destroyed Kerouac seems to oversimplify the situation. Many great poets (John Berryman, for example) and musicians, etc., struggled and sometimes lost their lives because they had the disease of alcoholism. Would you recommend, based on that, that no one should be a poet or musician and live those "lifestyles"? I'm not trying to be rude. Your conclusion just made me kind of go, "Huh?!" Again, I appreciated the video.
Maybe best to think of On the Road as just travel writing. Its interesting that Neal Casady, the main character of On The Road, settled down and had a happy family life for 10 years, working as a rail conductor. Sadly it all came undone when he was busted for Marijuana possession and ended up in jail for 3 years. After that he found it hard to get work and then got back it his old ways.
Really awesome video,guy! I never read any Kerouac, but I am a recovered alcoholic, who has been clean and sober for 33 years. My first sponsor in the program was a huge Kerouac fan ,and even took me to a hotel Kerouac used to live at in lower downtown Denver. It is truly sad when a creative person has their life impacted by the tyranny of alcoholism or addiction. So if anyone reading this thinks they have a problem with drugs and alcohol, improve your life drastically by getting help! Thanks again for making an insightful video,and good luck with your writing!
Nice video sir. I feel you made very valid points.i was always more drawn to his poetry.i feel before you start idolizing departed icons delve into their life and see how their journey ended. Alcohol and drugs may be fun but you take a risk when you dabble.
That was his contribution, his purpose even if it ended up in misery probably to cope with the mundane life. It is what it is - there’s no right or wrong except that he inspires regardless of how the ending is. It’s all part of the plan.
Good points, also we live in different times. Kerouac grew up and had adventures in a different America. On another note I don’t think Kerouac as an artist had a choice in his life decisions. He was a genius or at least brilliant or maybe just a bit talented at the right time? He was connected with the spirit and expressed it in writing that only few will truly get. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I did fall in love with "On the road" quite frankly for those reasons, even though I know quite well that that ain't a life to live. Maybe it's the fantasy that I'll never get to live out and the way he wrote it but that book is pure magic to me. And I am quite young- turned 27 recently and even though it's a male perspective, I liked it as a female reader. From then on, I started reading all of his books I could find translated into my native language (not sure whether or not you'd agree, but a translation can either kill or book or give it even more meaning, depending on whether it's a good translation or not; read "On the road" in my native language and it did it for me) but decided to read some of his books, in English, in the order they were written and am currently at "Desolation angels"- the last book I'll get to read by his and I do see it- the difference is clear, the misery is obvious, yet still feels magical. Maybe that's why it led to him influencing so many people whether he liked it or not or whether they understood him or not. What's important is that his magic touched so many people and keeps doing so even today.
This is a great observation and great comment. Yes, by Desolation Angels, the thrill of novelty and new experience had clearly grown stale for Jack. He was trying to hold on to those fleeting glimpses of Truth he'd had as a kid. and I agree about the translation. One of the reasons I'm trying to master Russian is because i want to read Gogol's Dead Souls in its original language.
Boy, did reading on the road, flip a switch in my head (already was a crazy punk). 1988 - A year out of high school, and it was on. Crazy fun adventure after adventure - until about 2002, when me and my Ex did the MOART (mother-of-all-road-trips) 😆 saved and planned for years, quit our jobs, saw everything we could... yes, a young person's game. And although 6.5 years clean, did become a grump, but not really. Still cherish those things I've experienced. I've written stories of some of my experiences, would like to get an opinion - if anything might be worth publishing. Cheers! ❤
Thank you, sir. I started re-reading it again recently. I still love the book from the comfortable confines of maturity when I know what to take deeply and what to smirk at as overzealousness. Jack is still one of the greatest evah.
I remember “getting it” in a sense why Jack would have thought it was obnoxious the hippies would have idealized him. You get older, things are no longer so pink cloud. I grew up Catholic. I looked into other religions. Definitely looked into Buddhism (but my older sisters are adopted from Korea so I originally that’s why but late high-school reading Kerouac had me more motivated). Back in 1960’s.. JFK Kennedy was the first Catholic President. People had been paranoid the Pope would run America. Catholic Anarchists came later and that’s a fun rabbit hole to go down in too. Seeing the comfort religion can bring - the repetition and schedule can be a rehab. I can understand why Jack could have gravitated towards home and religion when he started to see how everything wasn’t ever really that beautiful. He didn’t want to see young, gullible kids taking off trying to find themselves. I can tell it ruined some people. He knew it wasn’t gonna end well. Then when the media was turning on him - much easier to stay inside and get to sleep with a drink. There will always be posters of Cobain and Burroughs meeting on high school or college room doors. A few Sid Vicious posters left. Who the hell wants to listen to anyone over 21?
A lot to unpack here and I’ll probably do it in sections through the months ahead if anyone cares. Firstly, yes you’re on point and when I read Big Sur, I could feel that it was painful and tragic …..especially if you read between the lines. Another topic I would like to relate at some point is the polar opposite landscape of physical America today as well as socially…..which is even far removed from when I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. When I was younger (I’m 52) there was still a lot of 1950’s-1960’s America still in tact which is extremely important when it comes to’the feel’ of what he experienced and wrote about. Anyway, some day I’ll comment about this in depth as I toured the US for 20 plus years drumming for classic rock and rhythm and blues artists from the era. On a side note, it was early Tom Waits that brought me to Kerouac.
Jack was a believer. He once said in a radio interview “we’re all going to heaven”. There was a longing throughout his work, a search for something that in a way had already found him. By the end his body was beaten and broke but so was Jesus’s. I think you’re wrong when you say Kerouac never found enlightenment or bliss. It’s in his work, it’s in the gutters he wrote about, the things he saw and experienced. These things are transitory anyway. You read Dr Sax? The guy was a literary genius. For what it’s worth I think his spirit is now at peace and the reverberations of his life are in this beautiful video.❤️🙏.x
Dr Sax is my favorite Kerouac book, though I also love Tristessa. Kerouac was one of the most important human beings in the world to my young development. Maybe THE most important. I wish I could agree that he found some kind of enlightenment with lasting value, but I just don't believe he did--though it would be hardly be the first time I was wrong. I do agree though that he had fleeting glimpses. I did, as well, when I was travelling. But to me it's sort of like LSD enlightenment....as transient as it is temporarily profound. I no longer support those methods of self-discovery...just my opinion, though, I'm not a fanatic about it (lol). There is a video on CZcams with Cat Power's song "Good Woman" played over some footage of Jack. There is something incredibly moving about it. As a fellow Jack fan, I think you'd dig it.
@@appleknockerradio9512 Life is temporary my friend. Jack speaks as much to the beat “ in my own heart” as he did the so called beat generation. I think the Road is not just a physical one it’s a mental and spiritual one too. It’s a metaphor for life. Kerouac encourages the listener to reach for “your own sunset”. Whether you reach it or not is not really the point. The point is “you reach for it”. Be blessed on whatever road you take my friend.❤️🙏.x
That is a very interesting point. I’m going to think about how this relates to my point about Kerouac. I do wonder if Kerouac would agree after his return to Catholicism snd presumably Catholic cosmology and ethics (I assume Kerouac was sincere and not shallow in his faith). I am going to look into that. Your question opened this up into something much broader…thanks ;)
We are all unique to the point of neurophysiological level. Add to that our surroundings, exposure and experiences and it will lead us to who we become with tiniest possibility of free will in our actions or none. There's no truth or conclusion, "I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion". 🙂
What ancestry was Jack Kerouac? Of course He is French Canadain, but the name Keroac sounds Chezch or Slovak or even Yugoslavian, plus Irish DNA before the family line became Canadian French. It is interesting to look up His family tree! My older Brother DAVID had traced the KUNDRAT Line: Our Family Line, to find AUSTRIAN, IRISH, FINNISH, and SLAVIC (RUSSIAN-POLISH) as well as KOREAN! WOW! Was that a great suprize to me! But what of the KEROUAC Family DNA?
Man, that’s one I need to return to. When I think of old tired Jack, I think of Desolation Angels….he was beginning to wonder if he was actually going anywhere or just running in circles. Sad in beginning when he meditates on his useless beer is (after his first drink in months) but winds up right back in the bottle again. Gorgeous prose, though. Thanks for the comment.
I'd love to have a 47' Hudson Hornet just to experience on some small level what Dean Moriarty felt behind that wheel. Of course, i wouldn't be hyped up on Benzedrine. Imagine traversing the country in a car like that with all that horsepower and very little traffic like they did. Oh man. what kicks, long gone daddy!
I agree. There should be a limit. My grandpa said do everything in moderation. I think Jack himself would say he agrees with you totally. Thx. Only just discovered Kerouac this night. Just finished watching Big Sur not 30 minutes ago.
Through my readings of authors like Kerouac and Henry Miller I had a romantic idea of poverty, perpetual change, and wandering from here to there without clinging to anything. But when, due to a series of circumstances, I was finally able to experience all of this, it turned out to be a painful and very stressful experience.
Kerouac was gifted/cursed with being hyper sensitive to the human condition. Not just of the contemporary society his life took place in but also the suffering and longings since the first slouched out of the cave. He seemed to see the ‘angel’ aura glowing from everyone he witnessed but was extremely critical and hard on himself. There is a certain state of mind that a person can suffer from that is intrinsic to their entire being and that is the deep perpetual nostalgia. Not the kind of nostalgia that recalls apple pie and drive in movies, rather, it’s the nostalgia that persistently recalls the milk of the womb or a certain taste of a wash of color, or the shape of the leaves as they went shadow and swayed about cutting the light for no reason other than to spell eternity, and it said ‘Remember’. Throughout Kerouac work you will notice clear juxtapositions that split down to the root of every commitment he makes. He was charged with a burden the same as Moses or Abraham or Buddha or old Benny Lonesome down the street to beat it up that hill. What was it he said, ‘ I saw in the clouds huge and massed above the fiery golden desert of eveningfall the great image of God with forefinger pointed straight at me through halos and rolls and gold folds that were like the existence of the gleaming spear in His right hand, and sayeth, Go thou across the ground; go moan for man; go moan, go groan, go groan alone go roll your bones, alone; go thou and be little beneath my sight; go thou, and be minute and as seed in the pod, but the pod the pit, world a Pod, universe a Pit; go thou, go though, die hence; and of this world report you well and truly.’ Like Kerouac, I lost my brother at a young age and something like that will force you to question, no, obsess over the meaning or reason of existence. It will force you to question good and evil or if any of it matters and either way you may or may not be left standing there separated somehow from your own ghost, everything decorated to be called what it is as opposed to the million and one things it is not, and ‘could it stop’ and put to great labor so that no guilty bone will be put in the mud when the eyes widen, as they do at the first and final astonishment. And it is all astonishing and you rage to the dying of the light and as bright as the light may be, you are keen on the truth if it’s equal darkness and when it all is too much you will be want a soft embrace or somewhere close to the womb and it will never be as soft as you want it and so you go setting about slouched toward October(October is a ‘theme’ that comes up frequently in his work and he also passed away in October. October, for me anyway, has that ‘last call’ feeling, when you pack away the lust of summer with the romance of…..I don’t know exactly but there is an anticipation and sort of resigned courage that colors that season that begins in October. When splitting the wood and baking the bear doesn’t seem too great a task and suddenly trading the safety of home and employment for a flat spot in the dark part of the woods and jumping back on the chain of survival seems almost necessary. It’s when the feminine and the masculine equal out or become unnecessary to even mention and you see what it is you want and it is clear because you want nothing at all. Jack was too sensitive to have it any other way. He spent it all on heaven but no way could he witness that glowing ripple even out into….what? How could he outlive his mother? The connection to the womb. Alcohol was just a symptom of feeling and having felt so much. For having reached for so much and hoped for so much and seen so much. He may have felt miserable in the end, I don’t know, but he wasn’t miserable.
This is a fantastic comment. Thank you for leaving this. I appreciate these thougts and agree with your assessment.
I am reading On The Road these days and I am glad i've seen this comment. I lost my father a year ago and i really don't know what to do with life. I feel so close to Kerouac and his writing and this comment made me understand what he was thinking, and what i was feeling. Thank you.
@@zisandeniz5287 thank you. Of course, my comment was written from a place that feels a certain kinship to Kerouac, that is, the Kerouac that he gave us through his work and I’ll take his word when he says, ‘All the stories I wrote were true because I believed in what I saw….’ There are certain writers, musicians, directors etc.(basically someone who isn’t only just great at what they do, but those who have tapped into that heart of things and can decipher that eternal hum and translate it back to us in one form or another. You know the type; You’ve all been down that walking bridge and hear a commotion ahead getting more and more vivid as you move toward and you pass by and it’s just somebody who is at least a half century from being believable, who wouldn’t look any different no matter who he was, trying to sell it to himself but what he is selling is way beyond discount….but then, on another walking bridge or the same you don’t hear a thing. You notice what everyone else seems to have noticed and you move in and see the stranger laying it bare with his instrument. A hundred or more people around, summertime early evening but all other sound is at attention and held like the breath because everyone wants to believe and has been waiting for the truth, that gospel to be spoke anyway anywhere and, god damnit, you know it when you hear it. So you lean in hoping this is confirmation and when some Teddy Wondercock comes snapping his fingers down the pike you automatically go to tapping your feet and catch the Holy Ghost, cause we all know the tune and we all know it’s better to sing it with somebody else. And, apologies for jumping all over the place with my reply and sorta getting off track but I just wanted to say that we aren’t forgetting anything. We aren’t wasting time or unsure of anything. We all are just doing our bit day by day trying to construct our big solo in that great Song of Songs. Maybe, it’s been a while since you’ve heard it. Maybe you are listening now but next time it comes around and it’s your turn, blow loud enough so that I can hear and hear it true! When it comes back around, pick me up and take me to heaven with you
@U.SonomaBeach You got it. Excellent! 👏🏻
I can relate to October. Excellent post here. Thank you.
Man, did you hit home with me brother. My experience with Jack started in 1980 while living in San Jose Cali. , my buddy Dave from Lowell Mass , part french canadian, who turned me on to Dharma Bums, followed by , On the Road, The Subterraneans, Dr. Sax, Jacks book, Ginsberg Howl , The electric acid Kool aid test etc.. etc..and of course BIg Sur. I managed to avoid the pitfalls of alcoholism and drugs. Went on the road for three years driving trucks with a crew and setting up marketing shows at malls throughout western USA with plenty of off time and living the life. That part of my life ended in 1992 when I visited Jacks remains in Lowell Mass where he lies. I went back into the world of stable employment in my mid thirties. Jacks spirit of adventure still lives in me. He is and was a great inspiration. I totally get how you feel about him. Thanks for the memories. Be well!!
Beautiful
You succinctly articulated a realization I arrived at not just about Kerouac, but the whole aimless nomadic life in general. As a "grown adult" in his 50s, I'm grateful that I put down some roots and took my younger life seriously enough to be "secure" now (whatever that means). I have SO many friends and acquaintances the same age as me that chose a life of aimlessness and adventure, and are now in an "oh shit, I effed up" phase of their life. To date I don't know a single person who pulled of a Kerouac-esque life. That said, I ABSOLUTELY agree that Kerouac is one of the best.
Amen. I would not spend so much time thinking about Jack Kerouac in his writing if I did not love it so much.
I've semi-skeptically attempted the aimless nomadic lifestyle after a 7+ year struggle to establish security. The "oh shit" moments hit me before my wandering ways (they continue to come just less shockingly so). The nomadic lifestyle did give me occasional sense of adventure and liveliness (few moments of happiness), but mostly helped me mourn the loss of my childhood aspirations to secure a nest in society (less unhappiness). There still may be time to establish roots, but it's late...
I believe the Beat spirit can still continue on in forms outside of aimlessness. It certainly has helped me grow a sense of empathy, humor, spontaneity, and appreciation of simpler moments.
I don't disagree with the point, but I think Kerouac's problems ran deeper than a perennial desire to explore.
That’s what I was getting at
Jack was a fatalist. I think he always knew it would end badly. Perhaps that's why he kept moving, searching. Maybe for salvation, redemption. Who knows other than Jack? He lived for the moment keeping one eye on the exit. Could this be the door that would lead him to a new path, his rebirth? Where all was as it should be. Forever, eternally, at peace with himself. Wiser men than we have said ... "it's not the destination, it's the journey". That was his life. In the end Jack arrived right on schedule.
His goal was for people to read his words and feel. You felt it. He contributed that to you and all of us. If that is a dead end, I will circle around it till I die. Kerouac had empathy. He also saw the tragedy in the fact that all we know is that we are born and then we die. He wrote to illustrate this. He wrote to tell himself and the reader that we are all in this together. Beatitude. Beat. Sympathy. "Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream". - Ti Jean
To be fair most people are living uninspiring lives , it’s rare anyone gets it right. Everyone is here for different reasons learning different lessons , we aren’t having the same experiences or challenges nor are we meant to.
Goal, purpose and contribution. I am going to remember that.
I am seventy. I discovered the Beats in college back in the Seventies. I wanted to be a "Beatnik" as a little kid in the Fifties. Not really getting where that all came from. I had been married twice and had a baby and was writing, painting and a hippie chick but not the typical. Anyway, as an older person the more I learned about J. Kerouac life I also found sad and too bad. I feel drugs and alcohol had a lot to do with his downfall as with many. As a young person I experimented but was really quite careful. I have not even smoked a cigarette in over thirty-five years. I think drugs and alcohol cloud your judgement and deteriorate your brain. I am a liberal minded person but I see this as truth. My experiences with psychedelics were interesting but were just really me looking for the spiritual. And I agree about the psychological issues Jack had. I have been on an eastern oriented spiritual path for years. I have practiced Yoga seriously, and studied Buddhism. Hinduism and was raised in Christianiy. Long story. But question is do you want to be a good Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or do you want to wake up? My answer for me is wake up. And even that I don't fix as a goal in some distant unknown future. Everything is NOW. But doesn't mean you can't plan to a degree or have some life goals. I am retired now and working on art, writing etc. But the spiritual path is the most important thing in my life. I have sold a few paintings and gotten a few things published in very minor ways. I am a widow and married thirty five years to love of my life. He was a spiritual teacher. I was teaching myself Yoga when we met and he was a master. But we were also very real people who ate potato chips and watched tv. Anyway, I agree with your conclusions about Jack. I also see Earth as a school for soul lessons. I hope he learned some lessons. He will be back, if he isn't already, to learn some more. I love hearing his readings with the jazz accompaniment. I haven't yet even read every novel . I met Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky back in college in the Seventies after a concert they did on my campus. Just briefly. My husband sat on the railroad track protesting with Ginsburg. I am still exploring and reading a lot about the Beats. I have been busy working, raising kids and grandkids, went through divorces as a young person and all, kinds of stuff. Used to want fame and fortune but now glad I never made it to that after what I see of those who do. I am doing an autobiography here, ha, but just to give some background to my views.
Thank you for your perspective and thoughts.
Wow, thank you for all this info! Some time back I interviewed Tjinder Singh of the band Cornershop. Ginsberg wrote a piece and does spoken word (I think it's one of the most beautiful things he's ever done) on their album in 1998. It's titled "When the Light Appears Boy" and was I believe the last creative project he did before passing away. Thank you very much for your thoughts. Regarding spirituality, this channel is actually based around the spiritual path (albeit pathways that are kind of strange and hidden lol). I agree that the spiritual journey is the most sensible cornerstone for one's life.
Lol, on the autobiography comment, but that was an interesting story, thx!👍🌍🌕🌛
Life Is a spiritual journey 🥰🕊️
Thank you for your thoughts, Jeff. I posted this podcast to my blog. When I was young and inbetween marriages, I lived a pretty wild (irresponsible) life which culminated in a 6 month road trip from Kansas to California and back one winter and spring, selling distributorships for a small electronics company. Life on the road is exciting but hard and lonely. I met the woman I have been married to for the last 40 years on that trip. Been a happy homebody ever since.
As a young man, I romanticized the life of the writer. It wasn't until years later when I began to write for publication that I understood the amount of time and discipline required to turn out good work.
After I made this video I realized I was kind of trying to talk to my young self. I don’t regret the wild adventures I had necessarily, but I did try to extend them for too long. I thought it was a way to live for all of your days, and I wish I had had somebody to tell me that that is not true.
Thanks for sharing your story. I would not have guessed that about you honestly. Cool to know. And congrats on finding a great woman ;)
@@appleknockerradio9512 I'm so far from the On The Road lifestyle that I don't even drive anymore. I'm old, Brother. But I still have a valid license😀 --K.C. Knouse
A lot of people tend to overlook how much he struggled on the road too. How he ended up freezing and crying with no shoes, poor and hungry. It wasn’t always a magnificent journey but we romanticize the best parts. He almost died in Mexico. His time in Big Sur was miserable and depressing and he went deeper and deeper into the bottle. Very sad. I agree with the PTSD and that he never fully grieved. I think he, like many of the greatest intellectual writers and artists were too sensitive and fragile for this world.
I think best writers in the world had a traumatic childhood and many had quite miserable lives for several reasons: being highly sensitve, having high capacities and a history of trauma.
Dickens, Dovstoievski...writting is therapeutic. It's a way to dump your trauma without being rejected if you are good at writting. Without talent, instead of an artist, a person with trauma doesn't fit in society or end up being a social and political warrior, and addict or a weirdo. Wars, poverty, alcoholic parents...there are so many people traumatized and the worst thing is that those people have children and they pass their biterness like a generational curse.
I read all of Kerousc's books and poetry and many of the countless biographies about him. All I got out of it was an ongoing hangover. The earlier crisp stream of consciousness later devolved into a dried riverbed of inebreiated rubbish. The writing fell prey and victim to the undisciplined lifestyle. And to see him totally blitzed and slurring on the late sixties Wm. F. Buckley show was truly sad. He drank himself to death.
I have to say that I love Jack Kerouac as a person too much to be quite that harsh, but I can see validity, and what you are saying. I do believe his potential would have been fulfilled better if he had not gotten possessed by the booze
@@appleknockerradio9512 Keep your love for one so deserving. It's so kind of you to say that. In that way Kerouac's influence was a good thing. I'll build on that thought. Thanks.
@@sunkintree Jack said he drank because he was too Catholic to commit suicide. He wanted to kill himself, so he did it slowly by drinking. I'm no stranger to the ravages of drinking, it affects us all. Sometimes we can pull out of it, sometimes we don't. It's just such a sad embrace all around. Hate to see it take anyone. RIP Jack.
@@sunkintree The Town and the City was worth the read, I thought. It was before he took off with the bennies and stream-of-consciousness writing.
@@Jahnink I really liked Town and the City, but he was more original in his later works, and his later works are much better. It shows incredible talent that his first work was such a great pastiche of an already popular and respected author, but if that's all he was ever capable of I don't think we would be remembering him at all
It's like bands. Everyone starts out doing covers and writing in the style of their heroes. Real artists grow out of that and do something all their own though.
The Grateful Dead took the whole concept of on the road and brought it to a traveling band with traveling fans on the road.
i was already 40 when i discovered Kerouac and the reason i liked him is because i cried when i read the road . i was reading my life and my life was lonely and broke on the streets of los angeles and i knew this man went threw hell cause i did. it was like i wrote a biography of my life. alcohol was my friend,,, I been to five 90-day programs and i still drink today at 70 . i still cry when i hear or read about his life ,,,,,people have no real idea of his pain and suffering for those 30 years. it sickens me to see all these people making money off kerouacs life. AND to celebrate the life of casidy is a real joke. my conclusion is that people celebrating keroac dont even know kerouac. the jack kerouac museum in san fran is quite the conundrum.
Thank you sharing this, sir. I visited the Florida house he was living in when he died. It’s preserved as it was when he lived there. Emotional and surreal to stand next to his favorite recliner. Thanks again for sharing your story and insights
Many years ago I was playing my harp with some street musicians down in Lowell, Ma. during the annual folk festival there. I met a member of the Sampas family who told me that Jack suffered a terrible beating outside of a bar in St. Petersburg, Florida just before he died. He was bleeding internally & didn't know it. He mentioned ( in some audio) being thrown out of a bar on the west coast. Back at home he continued to drink Johnny Walker straight out of the bottle and that was it. I worked my way to the west coast & back in 1969. I drank on the streets of San Francisco and I saw those winos "spitting in the broken glass" down at 3rd & Howard. I got back to Boston just in time for Woodstock. Rest in Peace.. Desolate Angel...
Beautiful stuff. And yes, I believe that beating is likely the one that gave him the hernia that ended up leading to his death. I visited the house he was living in. It’s currently being turned into a historic site.
In the last couple of lines do you mean that Jack went to San Francisco than back to Boston before he passed?
My impression was that he was intentionally drinking himself to death. He was likely depressed after being deployed as useful idiot by the establishment to bring about all the pseudo mainstream counter-cultural movements that ensured after the publication of the On the Road.
Vonnegut did a little blurb essay about the time he met Kerouac. It's in "Wompeters, Foma, and Granfaloons" a collection of miscellaneous essays. I think it would complement your argument here. But no one gets out alive and of all the people that destroyed themselves in order to find some meaning in life, he's in good company. Few people live all the way to the end without eventually contradicting themselves, although if you sit tight in your hometown and never take any risks or explore the world around you, your chances are certainly a lot better.
I will definitely track that down. That's one of the only Vonnegut books I haven't read. And your point is well-taken. Life is full of folly and human blindness...even (and perhaps especially) among literary geniuses.
Ty for getting back to me. I could go on about your subject matter quite a bit here, I remember when life in America was more free and easy, and people used to hitchhike across the country without worrying about whether they had health coverage or what it would do to their career prospects. I'm still reeling at how much everything has changed in my lifetime. Stay strong, be cool. @@appleknockerradio9512
I feel like Big Sur is a great place to find Jack's feelings on his life experience. My personal favorite too.
Julia Pfeiffer Beach. Epic.
By reading Kerouac, I was introduced to an understanding that, beforehand, I was unaware of. This understanding alters consciousness. Whether I remember anything about the books or Kerouac is irrelevant. What is provided is a heightened awareness of who I am.
I think this is a great perspective. So much so that I plan on exploring it in depth and discussing it. Thank you
@@springchickena1 whoa, now that’s an idea
The FREE-FLOW conciousness and thought and way of writing I developed from Kerouac and Burroughs!!
It created a monster out of me!!
Sentence structure and all that went out the window when I began just writing in notebooks and going pages and pages!
It's a GIFT!!! But as for communication with others? Like txt or just small chat!
I can seem manic at times because of it.
Once you open that valve! It just FLOWS and that's how it is always now
I don't think anyone ever said that you should live like Jack does in On The Road forever. There's even a divide that Jack emphasises between his working (normal) life in New York and his life out on the road, such as in part ii when he returns to his Aunt's apartment in New York and finds his unfinished manuscript on his desk. My only caution to people who want to live On The Road is not to pick up nasty habits that could seep into your normal life once you return.
Just heard the end of your video. I suppose you pretty much agree with what I'm saying here.
Love this, spot on with so many points.
Very similar path trodden by myself, taking huge inspiration from him as a young 17-year old and English major.
Took me most of my 20s to come around to the philosophy and recognize that dead end.
Thank you much, Will, and apologies on just seeing this! From one recovered Beatnik to another: salute, and I hope you have a great Christmas.
Helping my extended family clean and sell stuff in their basement that’s been in boxes for decades. In one box was a bunch of Kerouac’s books. I’ve heard the name over the years, but I didn’t know anything about him. Yours was the first video I’m watching. Thanks for the info. I think I’m going to have to read On The Road.
You have no idea the sense of responsibility I have to hear that I was the first person you heard talk about Kerouac LOL for real for people like me Kerouac is legendary status. Definitely check him out. People tend to love him or hate him. If you do happen to read the book and recall this comment I love to hear what you think
@@appleknockerradio9512 it’s in my backlog! But I’ll get it done! Summer reading challenge has begun!
@@HotTakeAndy awesome. And sorry for all those whacky typos in my first response...talk to text (lol). I really would love to hear what you think. The way Jack lived...that vision...that approach to life....I'm always curious how it comes across to new readers and (by the looks of your pic) younger folks. Would love to hear it.
@@appleknockerradio9512 I did wonder why all the typos. Hah. And shoot, that’s a pic from 2009! I’m 38.
@@HotTakeAndy yea that response was embarrassing. Ha. 38? Man Jack wrote about life in the 50s and died in 69. 38 is a spring chicken lol
Everybody who read Kerouac made that trip. It was a rite of passage back in the day.
I don't think most people understand how much Jack's trip impacted the 1960s. A huge portion of those kids were trying to do what Jack did. Dylan was heavily influenced by Jack (though he later said he came to view Jack's way as being 'kind of pointless), and Dylan was then a major influence on the 60s. The 60s counterculture was really a mutation of the Beats.
When I was touring with my band, I had my copy of ON THE ROAD (scroll edition) and I was actually driving down the SAME STREETS n roads he was WALKING DOWN back in the 40's!!!
It added soooo much more depth to the novel!
I even got people to sign my book! When I'd give an autograph, i'd sez "sure ill sign ur CD n shirt!... you gotta do me a favor and I want your signature 1st in my book here!"
Ha, very cool story! I also went up to the North Cascades to trace his steps from Desolation Angels, and I have been in the house he was living in when he died…which is now being made into a historical site. Really neat inside. His old recliner was still in the living room, the one he mentioned in his writing a couple times.
Right on! That's rad! Yea I'm here in FL n I wanna go to his place!!!
I have no car so the road is hard to travel!
@AppleKnockerRadio Thank you for adding your critique. I have just finished reading On the Road.
At first, I can see & feel the ecstasy of life in Kerouac’s work while simultaneously appreciating how well he describes his real life experiences through his characters.
But it wasn’t until I happened upon your viewpoint that I am to contextualize it as a young author’s book with an adventurer’s time limit given your parallel travels & lifestyle.
It’s beautiful for what it is. I just wish when I was a kid someone had tapped me on the shoulder and given me some perspective. “Desolation Angels” is great prose but even at that point you could feel Kerouac feeling at a dead end (in my opinion anyway).
Another comment but I went and hitch hiked Europe after reading Kerouac
Sleeping in “hotels” on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn that were just grim. Punching taxi driver hanging out his taxi window as he’s trying to drive in Marrakesh for not giving me my change after agreeing a price. Yeah. Haha. Good times. I’m 32 and I’m not done. I’m going to try get to Ukraine. But I’m not in the position right now. Either that or the USA before it collapses.
Thanks. Not bad. You are getting at the truth. My first thought after finishing Big Sur was, "what's he's saying is that this way lies madness."
Luv ya bro. Keep it tight as a bow line.
I love Kerouac's writing. His spontaneous prose is magical. The way he captures life's exuberance is inspiring. Great point about his lifestyle becoming a dead end. We all have to be weary of self-deception. Tom Berenger had a great line in Platoon, "there's the way it ought to be, there's the way it is." I get lost in my head somedays, standing atop my own wishing well... Then it's time to pay the bills, have some real goals instead of pining for what I want. Jack's books have enhanced my way of thinking, he's definitely one of my all time favorites. To quote Jack: "Remember- the flashing exhilirated maddening discoveries and truths of youth," the experience is there, but sometimes you feel like you came away empty handed. It's good to reevaluate and see what you're aiming for.
What do you have to say about David Bowie who was 1 of those celebrities that was Inspired by Jack Kerouac?
Yes, a very astute point: "He went chasing a dead end." I had that feeling at the end of each of his books. He remained cowering among the rocks 'almost near the top' while Gary S. made it to the summit (Dharma Bums). Thank you for your thoughts.
fantastic. i appreciate you living it. i relate to much of your journey. your perspectives on kerouac are excellent. blessings.
Thank you. I love your handle :) Happy new year to you, sir.
@@appleknockerradio9512 would love to connect further. I am very devoted to Kerouac in my work as a healer and Im writing my second book immersed in Kerouac. Would love to share with you. Much of what you shared is right in alignment with what im working on with him and my bill and my clients. If you are open let me know and we’ll connect in some way that’s appropriate
@@healingmomentum definitely interested. Do you mean share in private conversation or here on channel? I’m totally open to both :)
@@appleknockerradio9512 both. But privately would be a better start.
100% agreement with your take on Kerouac and the life he lived.
Any chance you've read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, Michael? I have these ideas about statements McCarthy was making in that book about Kerouac and his archetypal lineage....so just curious.
@@appleknockerradio9512 - I have not read SUTTREE so I can't say.
I really appreciate your analysis man, it's really logical and enlightening. To be honest, I used to have this mentality of dont care at all, and lived most of my tweenties on the road. The concept of using every moment to make sure that I enjoy the max possible, and not letting a single chance slip away; is pretty much exhausting as well. I ve read on the road and even watched the movie, I have read Alan ginsberg and the most works delivered by the beat generation. I can say that I agree with what you said mostly and I don't recommend to take Jack Kerouac's life style as a harpoon or philosophy of life. Especially young ppl, cuz it may sound crazy and so full of Adrinaline and testo but really bad things happen during the chasing of that road. I'm a young writer, believe me if I said that I was same as Kerouac, Charles bukowski, and many other figures. It helped me to a certain time in my writings but sometimes you just say till when? You get tired of all that party life, the endless sex, women, alcohol and drugs. There comes a day when you realize that you took another path totally different than the one wich can make you happy with your life.
Agree across the board. I spent a good portion of my life, trying to seize the day in a very nihilistic and self indulgent way. It doesn’t lead anywhere. Actually, that’s not true, it leads to personal exhaustion, as you just said, in a sense of total purposelessness. It’s like William Blake said, the road to access leads to the palace of wisdom, which I interpret to mean that they pushing the limits, and you realize that it was all pointless to begin with and then you can bring yourself back to the center. just my thoughts on it. But anyway, thank you very much for this message.
Don't forget the impact that fame can have on one's state of mind as well... that can be a major driving force toward anxiety and addiction
Very interesting analysis and comments on Kerouac, helped me understand him, reflect on him, and have thought the same from the start. Sad life of a brilliant artist.
Thanks, Anthony. When I made this video, I think I had about 35 subscribers, 5 of which actually watched my stuff (ha). It's so neat that this somehow has gotten almost 2k views and I get to hear from people....great to see Jack is still loved. I wasn't really thinking anyone would watch my video, so I didn't think too deeply about my wording...but I do hope my appreciation of him as an artist and my love for him as a seeker came through. I think of him more like a brother than a hero now (except as a writer...as a writer still a hero), but I will always feel a deep affection for that doomed, beautiful soul.
Jack Kerouac was a literary genius who changed pop culture forever. Would The Beat-les have been so named without Jack? Maybe, maybe not, but he's influenced a legion of writers. I think that he should have stuck to Buddhism, at least it would have accommodated his homosexuality. Alcohol, (the most banal of all drugs) sucked the muse out of him. It's sad to see how his personal life turned out. I suspect he suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder and was obsessed by narcissists. I don't think it was his itinerancy that doomed him, simply the alcohol. I do not regret my years of "wandering" ~they've provided me with a depth and breadth of life experience which is the basis of everything I write now. I could not write until my "tank" was full. Rest in Paradise, Jack.
What great wisdom
Nailed it. Mostly. I think the substance abuse was less about being wild, and more about managing his extreme sensitivities. Seems like self-medication run amok.
I first read On the Road and Big Sur in the midst of a breakup. The cards were laid bare, and I saw them as a search for empathy.
Kerouac’s hero was Neal Cassidy who was the inspiration for On The Road.
I appreciate your views on this. Good words of wisdom!
Thanks, Chris. It's funny when I made this I was getting less than 10 views...NEVEr expected this to blow up and felt really self-conscious as a result. I really appreciate hearing when it's positive for people. Thank you.
I would love to read your stuff, where can it be found? Social medias?
Hola, Dan. All my most notable publications were fantasy/sci-fi, but I get the feeling if you came to a Kerouac vid you're more of a literature guy. I have also published poetry and literature, but for the last few years it's almost entirely self-publishing (I just got tired of the submission process, to be honest). What's your usual interest?
@@appleknockerradio9512 Kerouac, Bukowski, Tom Wolfe, lately!
You hit the bullseye with your review. Well said🎉
Thank you!
I discovered Kerouac over 30 years ago and always look for new information about the Columbia Beat Generation and partners/affiliates. Lots of good comments here.
What stands out to me are the comments of Carolyn (partner of Neal aka Dean M.) about how Jack realised relatively early on he would not have a stable family. He was either off, or with his mother.
After 1957, he achieved fame with On the Road, but the years before that were a drought with the exception of a minor novel and one unpublished until after death.
With Big Sur, the events taking place in 1962, we see the price of overnight fame. A weakened guy, who spent a couple of months firewatching in total isolation in 1957, is suddenly hounded and by 1962 is missing dinner with Henry Miller and going mad in a small cabin. By 1969 he has drunk himself to death age 47. That's a pretty extreme timeline.
The point is that Kerouac was a fast burning flame who had experienced it 80% before 1957 and could only retreat to his mother or oblivion or both. By the sixties, the merchant seaman of 1944 and his Inspirations were long gone.
Big Sur is a great, if sobering book about destructive genius and long cab trips with the brakeman's lantern and waking up in strange places.
I did it, too. Love the memories and experiences. It's amazing how life changes
Met him at Haslem's Bookstore in St. Pete
Henry Miller section. Had a chat sort of. 😮
Loved the ideas you put forth.
Thank you, brother.
Thank you, Evelyn.
I read all his books in my late teens - early twenties. In my 50s now. I still see Jack as a great writer, a great artist....the traveling, I don't really see it as a negative....Jack was not always traveling....he just wrote about it a lot.... anyway, I will say, as I'm older now, my reverence for him has somewhat diminished...I still find him to be an artist of great creativity and thought....but as a person, it feels like maybe he never fully matured emotionally...always kind of adolescent, his maturity stunted by the drinking, which is common for alcoholics....and you hear how he was living in the last part of his life, just living as a drunk.... it's a shame.....so I relate to these feelings you have....there is something to be said for moderation. But as an artist there is no reason we shouldn't celebrate his work and aspire to it, of course many of the greatest artists ever had similar issues, but for me personally, that doesn't take away from the impact of the work and the enjoyment I find in it..
I think the lifestyle that Jack lived and described in his books is appealing for many people/men especially. I’m a single guy in my early 30’s, and I am intrigued by this lifestyle, and have done a good amount of rambling so far in my life. Especially with the dynamic of society as it is right now the lure of a rambling life is appealing. But I do recognize how the consumption of alcohol and hard drugs can and most likely will deteriorate and worsen your experience. I wonder if Jack could have continued being a nomad/rambler/writer for many more years if he would have done it without the use of alcohol and drugs.
Yes, I think you make a good point. When I made this video, I seriously had bout 30 subscribers and no videos with more than like views (lol)....I would have been more thorough if I knew this thing would get so much attention. But, I have contemplated what you're saying, both for Jack and myself (part of me does still yearn for the rambling lifestyle), and I do indeed believe a distinction should be drawn between doing just that vs. doing that while abusing drugs and alcohol.
I honestly believe Jack might have been well-suited to becoming a Catholic monk (or any other kind of monk). I personally think his substance addiction is what derailed what could have been a beautiful life trajectory.
@Appleknocker Radio yeah, I think you covered your points well, there are just a lot of complexities to it. I think he would have been a suited for a type of monk existence as well, and could have lived to a very old age while continue to practice his travels and ideologies. But yea, in truth, I think you’re right about the rambling lifestyle being somewhat unsustainable. It can be very freeing and amazing but also very lonely and tiresome. I guess you could get used to it but the west and tear on your body and mind could get to you as you get older. Add alcohol and drug abuse to the already present difficulties of being on the road and you can encounter some major difficulties for sure.
@Appleknocker Radio and it is interesting how this subject has so much more attention and interest relative to your other videos and content. I wonder why that is..
Thanks for your video. How hard am I judged that I am 35 and just started his books and you were 9! ... But I am so so glad!
I actually returned to Jack in my 30s. And I am glad I did. His writing is very good to remind ourselves that adventure and exploration are key parts to a happy life. Have you gotten to Dr. Sax yet? That’s a really interesting when it’s unlike any other book he wrote. Magic realism
@@appleknockerradio9512 Just ordered it, yesterday. I am eager to start it.
Jack did state on the Firing Line TV program in '68 that the hippies were "good kids" and "better than the Beats". That may have been in a more tolerant moment as he fluctuated from objective moments to hardly veiled hostility. But his alcoholism coupled with his exhaustion of life guaranteed an early passing. I'm a bit surprised he made it as long as he did. A very complex and tortured man but then many supreme artists are in that boat. God bless and RIP Jack.
Well, he was trying to get to heaven but in life he just kept seeing things whither and decay and become lost. He was like a babe kicking in the womb and alcohol was his milk. He said what he had to say and left quiet an impression….was my impression
And the reason he was dismissive, disruptive and apathetic, possibly, is that what he wrote and was peddling was sacred. The hippies came along and they were good kids and had the fire in their gut but they were taking only the excesses of his gospel and the hedonistic aspect and throwing the rest out with the bong water. He states, on firing line, that he is a Republican and he wasn’t lying. I don’t think he was bitter but I think he may have been a bit envious of their youth and all that it entails.
@@jamieflowers1493 yeah, I believe he says, ‘The hippies are good kids’ If I’m remembering correctly. Have you listened to his discussion, ‘Is there a bear generation?’ I recommend it if you haven’t
Kerouac joined a long list of people who struggled with the realization after years of searching that life has no meaning other than that which you give it.
If you can accept that you can live, love and enjoy life as it is not as others wish it were.
I'm 66, raised and educated a couple of kids and me and the wife still hit the road somewhere in the world every couple of years for 3-6 months.
There is no reason to straighten up and confine yourself to the burbs as old mate seems to be suggesting.
I really enjoyed your video. I had always thought it so tragic how he ended up. My favorite video of him was his appearance on the Steve Allen show. Allen playing piano and Jack reading from On the Road.
Yes! His final line was "What will happen?!" How poignant is that!
Just reading this comment section reminds me of my time in San Francisco and traveling up and down the coast, etc. etc. This was mid 80s for 10 years. As an artist and engineer, the creative energy was incredible. It was also well into the hippie idealism turning very dark and held no appeal.
You touched on Buddhism, which I began studying, practicing around then, it's really easy to fall into nihilism if left to ones own western-mind devices. It's fairly common. Back in the before the 50s and for several decades thereafter, there wasn't much in the way of teachers, books, etc. Now, there's too much information and westernized misinterpretation. I was fortunate to find the SFZC at that time. Sadly, it's changed too much and I live in Chicago now. What I learned at that time continues to serve me well.
Your post is a great message to the yutes (sorry, your honor, yooothes) and anyone who gets too far gone in romantic ideas. E.g. people that have died trying to reach the bus from the book/movie _Into the Wild, or followed The Dead or Phish etc.etc.
"You are perfect as you are, and could use a little improvement " - Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Well thought out analysis of Jack Kerouac.
Thank you. I made this when I had less than 100 subscribers (I think less than 50) and never expected it to get more than a couple dozen views. It's honestly reassuring to me to hear that I expressed myself well.
Walt Whitman, Thomas Wolfe, and Jack Kerouac...America
The tradition seems to have died with Kerouac. Or maybe just the interest in the rambling poet archetype. Not sure, but that way of exuberant, distinctly American road writing seems to have died with Jack. Mantle taken up to a degree by bob Dylan and such but that too has died. Perhaps symptom of larger American disillusion with the sheer thrill of being alive? Not sure.
Whitman’s Song of Joys is one of my favorite poems ever.
@@appleknockerradio9512 Great video, I will send it to some people
@@appleknockerradio9512 I have 65 books by/or about Jack Kerouac and about 160 books by/or about Ernest Hemingway. I even met Norman Mailer years ago. I do not know what this says about me, but I do have a lot of books.
@@davidwilson410 It means you’re a man with some great sense! You actually met mailer? Oh man that is fascinating. Definitely don’t wanna put you on the spot here but that is actually the kind of thing I love to interview people about, so if you did have any little interest in discussing that I’d love to hear it. But even if not, that is really fascinating. Did you ever see that story about where he got in that really violent fight during the making of a film? That’s one of the craziest damn story I’ve ever heard
And also, I absolutely love Hemingway short stories. I may be a bit of a heretic care but I actually believe her short stories are better than his novels.
to be fair, he sent as much money to his mother as she did him. i still like him and i agree if i'd found his books when i was a teen i might not be here right now because i was already in a dangerous state of mind (skipped school with a friend and went hitch hiking just for kicks in 9th grade. i had a blast, met interesting people, ALMOST went to chicago.) got in major trouble the next day because skipping school is bad (no one knew about the hitching except for our other friends.)
Jack was and is someone i can heavily relate to on multiple levels except for the drinking. i do not imbibe nor do i indulge in any substance.
i don't believe he wrote with intentions to influence anyone. he was simply sharing his experience. some of them were pretty funny (his days as a police officer) another element is... that time period is identical to the one we're in now. the youth were the same as we have now. he didn't see a future. most young people don't. his father died when he was young, he had no basis for comparison. most kids today are in the same boat with delinquent fathers. it's a terrible situation for the youth of the world, just like it was then. Jack's father died of stomach cancer, others were lost to war... or just lost in general.
that loss often leaves a person rudderless and desperate. that's how you end up with someone like Kerouac. there is psychology to it.
but if you don't study psychology then yeah you might easily be influenced by someone like this. because again.... you'll naturally seek a father figure (or sometimes a mother, depends on which is missing) but you won't have the discernment required.
my own male influences were Jack London(fatherless) John Lennon (also fatherless, and the hitch hiking idea was his fault) and John Wayne (had a good father and a terrible mother).. yes i was a weird kid. i didnt and still don't like anything modern or popular. i will always have my head in the previous decades. what can i say? I'm an artist. we're entitled to strangeness!
For Jack Kerouac's part, he struck me as gentle and curious. he was always searching for something, but even he didn't know what. He got to experience fatherhood, sure. but again, he had no basis for comparison. it's foolish, as i found out, to look to the lost for influence. The only thing that saved me from going down a worse path was ... here it comes... JESUS.
THE Father. THE example.
Don't laugh. i'm lucky to be alive. so are a lot of people. i've found what i was searching for, and that is unconditional love that only a father can give.
Going out into the world and having adventures and stories to tell is one thing. abusing yourself or others, there is nothing good about it. you punish yourself for mistakes you made - but would you have made then if you'd had better influences and examples? You see no future? Well, you have to build it, just like a house. Good foundation, solid roof, good insultation, warmth, food, lots of rooms occupied by the people you love.
I admire Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski but I hate the fact that they allowed Alcholism to Run Their Lives until they Died!
Add jim Morrison.
A nice way of saying it, I think Jack would agree. Wonderful man who ultimately made too many wrong choices and lived to regret it.
This is a great, thoughtful video about my favorite novelist. However, I don't think it's completely true that Kerouac's life was miserable in his later years because of his On the Road lifestyle.
Kerouac was an alcoholic. He would have been an alcoholic if he'd stayed in Lowell and worked as a banker his entire life. In some of his books he's practically begging for someone/something to "cure" him of it. Many of his friends, leading similar lifestyles (Ginsberg, Gary Snyder--who is still alive and very well--and others), did not live and die in misery.
Alcoholism is a disease. I don't know that anyone really "beats" it, even if they manage to stop drinking. To discredit that kind of nomadic, non-comformist lifestyle (which was in many ways a great contribution to our culture) because alcoholism destroyed Kerouac seems to oversimplify the situation.
Many great poets (John Berryman, for example) and musicians, etc., struggled and sometimes lost their lives because they had the disease of alcoholism. Would you recommend, based on that, that no one should be a poet or musician and live those "lifestyles"?
I'm not trying to be rude. Your conclusion just made me kind of go, "Huh?!" Again, I appreciated the video.
Well said.
Thank you, rsykesjr (so curious how to pronounce lol).
Maybe best to think of On the Road as just travel writing. Its interesting that Neal Casady, the main character of On The Road, settled down and had a happy family life for 10 years, working as a rail conductor. Sadly it all came undone when he was busted for Marijuana possession and ended up in jail for 3 years. After that he found it hard to get work and then got back it his old ways.
Excellent tidbit and interesting insight…thinking of it purely as travel writing.
Really awesome video,guy! I never read any Kerouac, but I am a recovered alcoholic, who has been clean and sober for 33 years. My first sponsor in the program was a huge Kerouac fan ,and even took me to a hotel Kerouac used to live at in lower downtown Denver. It is truly sad when a creative person has their life impacted by the tyranny of alcoholism or addiction. So if anyone reading this thinks they have a problem with drugs and alcohol, improve your life drastically by getting help! Thanks again for making an insightful video,and good luck with your writing!
Thank you sir and congratulations on 33 years. That is no small feat.
I knew Kerouac (a little) dated his daughter Jan ( unacknowledged then)- he was a very troubled guy- raging alcoholic- troubled hero
Nice video sir. I feel you made very valid points.i was always more drawn to his poetry.i feel before you start idolizing departed icons delve into their life and see how their journey ended. Alcohol and drugs may be fun but you take a risk when you dabble.
Thank you, friend. Mexico City Blues I think was his one poetry book? I liked it. Dr. Sax is actually my favorite of Kerouac
That was his contribution, his purpose even if it ended up in misery probably to cope with the mundane life. It is what it is - there’s no right or wrong except that he inspires regardless of how the ending is. It’s all part of the plan.
Well said. Wise counsel.
BRAVO ! 😀
Good points, also we live in different times. Kerouac grew up and had adventures in a different America. On another note I don’t think Kerouac as an artist had a choice in his life decisions. He was a genius or at least brilliant or maybe just a bit talented at the right time? He was connected with the spirit and expressed it in writing that only few will truly get. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Good point. It's easy to forget the other side of the coin.
I did fall in love with "On the road" quite frankly for those reasons, even though I know quite well that that ain't a life to live. Maybe it's the fantasy that I'll never get to live out and the way he wrote it but that book is pure magic to me. And I am quite young- turned 27 recently and even though it's a male perspective, I liked it as a female reader.
From then on, I started reading all of his books I could find translated into my native language (not sure whether or not you'd agree, but a translation can either kill or book or give it even more meaning, depending on whether it's a good translation or not; read "On the road" in my native language and it did it for me) but decided to read some of his books, in English, in the order they were written and am currently at "Desolation angels"- the last book I'll get to read by his and I do see it- the difference is clear, the misery is obvious, yet still feels magical. Maybe that's why it led to him influencing so many people whether he liked it or not or whether they understood him or not. What's important is that his magic touched so many people and keeps doing so even today.
This is a great observation and great comment. Yes, by Desolation Angels, the thrill of novelty and new experience had clearly grown stale for Jack. He was trying to hold on to those fleeting glimpses of Truth he'd had as a kid. and I agree about the translation. One of the reasons I'm trying to master Russian is because i want to read Gogol's Dead Souls in its original language.
I love Jacks never ending thoughts 😄 The Subterraneans is my favorite 👌🏼
Great speech. Bravo friend. All facts
Hi, Are you from Brazil or by chance do you have ancestors from Brazil?
I am not from Brazil and far as I know have no Brazilian heritage. Do I look Brazilian? Brazilians ARE attractive people after all! Ha!
@@appleknockerradio9512 Thanks so much! Yes you do! Any spanish heritage?
@@DelNegro10 i do have a good portion of Spanish dna, I think specifically from the Basque region.
@@appleknockerradio9512 Thanks ! This explain everything
I like your interpretation.
Boy, did reading on the road, flip a switch in my head (already was a crazy punk). 1988 - A year out of high school, and it was on. Crazy fun adventure after adventure - until about 2002, when me and my Ex did the MOART (mother-of-all-road-trips) 😆 saved and planned for years, quit our jobs, saw everything we could... yes, a young person's game. And although 6.5 years clean, did become a grump, but not really. Still cherish those things I've experienced. I've written stories of some of my experiences, would like to get an opinion - if anything might be worth publishing. Cheers! ❤
Point well made. Jack’s road was way too short and didn’t end very well.
Thanks, John. When I made this video, I had less than 100 subscribers and NO idea it would get so many views. I'm glad to know I was coherent! ha.
Excellent
I know this video is old,but as a 50 year old, I just read the On The Road scroll for the first time.I think you are spot on.
Thank you, sir. I started re-reading it again recently. I still love the book from the comfortable confines of maturity when I know what to take deeply and what to smirk at as overzealousness. Jack is still one of the greatest evah.
Believe Jack explained beat with the word sympathetic. Perhaps this is Kerouac's summation that motivated him. To understand.
I remember “getting it” in a sense why Jack would have thought it was obnoxious the hippies would have idealized him. You get older, things are no longer so pink cloud.
I grew up Catholic. I looked into other religions. Definitely looked into Buddhism (but my older sisters are adopted from Korea so I originally that’s why but late high-school reading Kerouac had me more motivated).
Back in 1960’s.. JFK Kennedy was the first Catholic President. People had been paranoid the Pope would run America.
Catholic Anarchists came later and that’s a fun rabbit hole to go down in too.
Seeing the comfort religion can bring - the repetition and schedule can be a rehab.
I can understand why Jack could have gravitated towards home and religion when he started to see how everything wasn’t ever really that beautiful.
He didn’t want to see young, gullible kids taking off trying to find themselves. I can tell it ruined some people.
He knew it wasn’t gonna end well.
Then when the media was turning on him - much easier to stay inside and get to sleep with a drink.
There will always be posters of Cobain and Burroughs meeting on high school or college room doors.
A few Sid Vicious posters left.
Who the hell wants to listen to anyone over 21?
Thank you.
Thank you back. I appreciate knowing if I provided a useful insight for someone.
@@appleknockerradio9512 yes. I said thank you for providing a warning to people, while also admiring his work.
Drugs, being lost, etc. is no joke.
@@MrJasond7 amen to that, brother.
A lot to unpack here and I’ll probably do it in sections through the months ahead if anyone cares. Firstly, yes you’re on point and when I read Big Sur, I could feel that it was painful and tragic …..especially if you read between the lines. Another topic I would like to relate at some point is the polar opposite landscape of physical America today as well as socially…..which is even far removed from when I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. When I was younger (I’m 52) there was still a lot of 1950’s-1960’s America still in tact which is extremely important when it comes to’the feel’ of what he experienced and wrote about. Anyway, some day I’ll comment about this in depth as I toured the US for 20 plus years drumming for classic rock and rhythm and blues artists from the era. On a side note, it was early Tom Waits that brought me to Kerouac.
You’re the best Jeff!
Jack was a believer. He once said in a radio interview “we’re all going to heaven”. There was a longing throughout his work, a search for something that in a way had already found him. By the end his body was beaten and broke but so was Jesus’s. I think you’re wrong when you say Kerouac never found enlightenment or bliss. It’s in his work, it’s in the gutters he wrote about, the things he saw and experienced. These things are transitory anyway. You read Dr Sax? The guy was a literary genius.
For what it’s worth I think his spirit is now at peace and the reverberations of his life are in this beautiful video.❤️🙏.x
Dr Sax is my favorite Kerouac book, though I also love Tristessa. Kerouac was one of the most important human beings in the world to my young development. Maybe THE most important. I wish I could agree that he found some kind of enlightenment with lasting value, but I just don't believe he did--though it would be hardly be the first time I was wrong. I do agree though that he had fleeting glimpses. I did, as well, when I was travelling. But to me it's sort of like LSD enlightenment....as transient as it is temporarily profound. I no longer support those methods of self-discovery...just my opinion, though, I'm not a fanatic about it (lol).
There is a video on CZcams with Cat Power's song "Good Woman" played over some footage of Jack. There is something incredibly moving about it. As a fellow Jack fan, I think you'd dig it.
@@appleknockerradio9512
Life is temporary my friend. Jack speaks as much to the beat “ in my own heart” as he did the so called beat generation.
I think the Road is not just a physical one it’s a mental and spiritual one too. It’s a metaphor for life. Kerouac encourages the listener to reach for “your own sunset”. Whether you reach it or not is not really the point. The point is “you reach for it”.
Be blessed on whatever road you take my friend.❤️🙏.x
That's just it,no matter what you do in the end it is a dead end.Have a nice day.
That is a very interesting point. I’m going to think about how this relates to my point about Kerouac. I do wonder if Kerouac would agree after his return to Catholicism snd presumably Catholic cosmology and ethics (I assume Kerouac was sincere and not shallow in his faith). I am going to look into that. Your question opened this up into something much broader…thanks ;)
We are all unique to the point of neurophysiological level. Add to that our surroundings, exposure and experiences and it will lead us to who we become with tiniest possibility of free will in our actions or none. There's no truth or conclusion, "I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion". 🙂
I think Jack Kerouac may have been a big inspiration for Hunter S Thomson the writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.🤔
Doesn't On The Road itself end tragically?
Travel with goals and purposes
What ancestry was Jack Kerouac? Of course He is French Canadain, but the name Keroac sounds Chezch or Slovak or even Yugoslavian, plus Irish DNA before the family line became Canadian French. It is interesting to look up His family tree! My older Brother DAVID had traced the KUNDRAT Line: Our Family Line, to find AUSTRIAN, IRISH, FINNISH, and SLAVIC (RUSSIAN-POLISH) as well as KOREAN! WOW! Was that a great suprize to me! But what of the KEROUAC Family DNA?
Brittany.
@@Frank-Penderyn Thank you!
What city are you near?
Closest city to me is Tacoma, but that's for only a very short time, as I'm about to move!
@@appleknockerradio9512 Never been there, but want to visit sometime, I'm in S. New Jersey now.
One in eight people are alcoholic. It can be a very rough road.
you can see his older side in Big Sur for sure!
Man, that’s one I need to return to. When I think of old tired Jack, I think of Desolation Angels….he was beginning to wonder if he was actually going anywhere or just running in circles. Sad in beginning when he meditates on his useless beer is (after his first drink in months) but winds up right back in the bottle again. Gorgeous prose, though. Thanks for the comment.
Have you seen the tv interview where he’s obviously drunk. Bout a year or 2 before he died.
Yea, it was very sad. That was William F. Buckley with Ed Sanders (who wrote the first and best book on Charles Manson btw). Jack was a total wreck.
@@appleknockerradio9512 total wreck. Ah yes Manson. CIA and mafia agent and informer.
I'd love to have a 47' Hudson Hornet just to experience on some small level what Dean Moriarty felt behind that wheel. Of course, i wouldn't be hyped up on Benzedrine. Imagine traversing the country in a car like that with all that horsepower and very little traffic like they did. Oh man. what kicks, long gone daddy!
Have you read And the Hippos were boiled in their tanks?
Ha, yea. Burroughs, man....still the king of the strange, to this day.
@@appleknockerradio9512 love him. He knew the magick of reality. He cursed Truman Capote. Capote was ruined by Burroughs chaos magick style curse.
I agree. There should be a limit. My grandpa said do everything in moderation. I think Jack himself would say he agrees with you totally. Thx. Only just discovered Kerouac this night. Just finished watching Big Sur not 30 minutes ago.
re-reading Big Sur at the moment. all you say is illustrated there.
Thanks, Jono. Been a while since I read that one...excellent follow-up for me continue this train of analysis. I'm going back to Big Sur. Thank you!