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full of insights into the life and work of a master craftsman
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The Portable Jack Kerouac
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This one-volume omnibus, planned by the author before his death and now completed by his biographer, Ann Charters, makes clear the ambition and accomplishment of Jack Kerouac's "Legend of Duluoz" - the story of his life told in the course of his many "true-story novels, " including "On the Road." As Kerouac once wrote, "The whole thing forms one enormous comedy, seen through the eyes of poor Ti Jean (me), otherwise known as Jack Duluoz, the world of raging action and folly and also of gentle sweetness seen through the keyhole of his eye." The only anthology of Kerouac's work ever published, this compilation presents selections from the "Legend of Duluoz" novels, in chronological order, and also includes poetry, letters, and essays on Buddhism, writing, and the Beat Generation. "The Portable Jack Kerouac" is an essential introduction to one of this country's most important modern writers.
626 pages, Paperback
First published March 1,1995
This edition
- Format
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626 pages, Paperback
- Published
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March 1, 1996 by Penguin Books
- ISBN
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9780140178197
- ASIN
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0140178198
- Language
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English
About the author
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Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian ancestry, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He "learned English at age six and spoke with a marked accent into his late teens." During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine; he completed his first novel at the time, which was published more than 40 years after his death. His first published book was The Town and the City (1950), and he achieved widespread fame and notoriety with his second, On the Road, in 1957. It made him a beat icon, and he went on to publish 12 more novels and numerous poetry volumes.
Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jerry Garcia and The Doors.
In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published.
Of French-Canadian ancestry, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He "learned English at age six and spoke with a marked accent into his late teens." During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine; he completed his first novel at the time, which was published more than 40 years after his death. His first published book was The Town and the City (1950), and he achieved widespread fame and notoriety with his second, On the Road, in 1957. It made him a beat icon, and he went on to publish 12 more novels and numerous poetry volumes.
Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jerry Garcia and The Doors.
In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published.
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Rating(4.2 / 5.0, 28 votes)
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28 reviews All reviews
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Haven't read ALL of this but it's great to take for excerpt reading (obviously).
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Good cross section of Kerouac's writings. I thought adding in selected letters was a nice touch, as it underscored his writings at the time the letters were written.
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This, not "On the Road," got me hooked on Kerouac. I definitely recommend it for anyone who is just beginning to read his novels.
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Great overview of Jack Kerouac works. I now want to read more of his books, and poems.
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Kerouac is an American Classic. If you think you're well versed on the classics from the time period of Hemingway and haven't read Kerouac you're wrong.
I was hugely a fan of Kerouac from about age 14 to 20. Then I tried to rekindle that spark a few years ago and it just wasn't the same. If you want to buy a great book for someone infected with a bit of the wanderlust though, anything from Kerouac would be perfect and I would recommend ON THE ROAD as a place to start.
I was hugely a fan of Kerouac from about age 14 to 20. Then I tried to rekindle that spark a few years ago and it just wasn't the same. If you want to buy a great book for someone infected with a bit of the wanderlust though, anything from Kerouac would be perfect and I would recommend ON THE ROAD as a place to start.
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A good starting point. I read it on airplanes between the west coast and Montana, and in between. It's a battle worth winning.
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the thing about jack kerouac is that if you've read one of his novels, you've read them all. he has one specific writing style, one general topic. this book has sections of his other books in it, and honestly you could read them as if they're all from the same novel because he's extremely repetitive.
having a style is good, yes, but i think when you're writing the same story over and over with little differences in plot....then i don't know. makes it tiring for me, personally.
having a style is good, yes, but i think when you're writing the same story over and over with little differences in plot....then i don't know. makes it tiring for me, personally.
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