<![CDATA[Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think)]]>

false <![CDATA[Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think)]]> 587925 2 The author of Hip: The History reveals the lessons of the original hipster bible, On the Road Legions of youthful Americans have taken On the Road as a manifesto for rebellion and an inspiration to hit the road. But there is much more to the novel than that. In Why Kerouac Matters, John Leland embarks on a wry, insightful, and playful discussion of the novel, arguing that it still matters because at its core it is a book that is full of lessons about how to grow up. Leland's focus is on Sal Paradise, the Kerouac alter ego, who has always been overshadowed by his fictional running buddy Dean Moriarty. Leland examines the lessons that Paradise absorbs and dispenses on his novelistic journey to manhood, and how those lessons about work and money, love and sex, art and holinessstill reverberate today. He shows how On the Road is a primer for male friendship and the cultivation of traditional family values, and contends that the stereotype of the two wild and crazy guys obscures the novel's core themes of the search for atonement, redemption, and divine revelation. Why Kerouac Matters offers a new take on Kerouac's famous novel, overturning many misconceptions about it and making clear the themes Kerouac was trying to impart. Celebrating 50 Years of On the Road <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top"> <td width="50%"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top"> <td width="50%" align="center"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/067006355X.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0" align="right"></td> <td width="40%" align="left">In three weeks in a Manhattan apartment in April 1951, Jack Kerouac wrote his first satisfactory draft of On the Road as a single, 120-foot scroll. On the Road: The Original Scroll prints the text of this remarkable literary artifact in book form.</td><td width="10%"></td> </tr> </table></td> <td width="50%"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top"> <td width="50%" align="center"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0670063266.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0" align="right"></td> <td width="40%" align="left">A 50th anniversary edition of Kerouac's classic novel that defined a generation. On the Road is the quintessential American vision of freedom and hope, a book that changed American literature and changed anyone who has ever picked it up.</td><td width="10%"></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> Questions for John Leland Amazon.com: There is a great legend around the composition of On the Road. What parts are true and what parts aren't? <img src=" http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/blog/Leland_John_350.jpg" border="0" align="right">Leland: The legend is that Kerouac wrote the book in three frenzied weeks on a scroll of tracing paper. In truth he had already written a couple drafts, and had written and re-written many of the scenes in his notebooks and letters to friends, which he kept in scrupulous order. I liken the three-week spree to a jazz musician improvising a solo using riffs and phrases he has worked out in the woodshed: it's part spontaneous composition, but building on mountains of practice and planning. Amazon.com: In Why Kerouac Matters you make the against-the-grain argument that On the Road is not an ode to permanent adolescent transience and rebellion but rather a guide in moving toward adult responsibility. Could you explain? Leland: Like any good book, On the Road sustains at least two threads. The one that gets the most attention is the book of Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady), the wild, yea-saying overburst of American joy who sounds an irresistible call to adventure. Dean is the circus that every boy dreams of joining. Dean's road is pure carnal excitement, all speed and jazz and sex. But there's also the book of Sal Paradise, the narrator, who follows Dean out onto the road but then ultimately outgrows him, finishing the book off the road. Sal comes to recognize Dean's road as destructive and limiting--as long as Dean keeps going through the same motions, leaving a new baby and a new ex-wife in every town, he isn't really on the road, he's stuck in a rut. Sal, by contrast, is learning to be a man and a writer, searching for meaning and a home. For all its frantic adventures, the book ends with Sal nesting with his new love, Laura (Joan Haverty, Kerouac's second wife) and ready to write the book we're still reading. Amazon.com: Do you think its enduring popularity comes from the appeal of Dean's endless summer or from Sal's development? (In other words, do you think people like it for the wrong reasons or the right ones?) Leland: Dean is one of the most compelling characters in American literature; we'll always be drawn to him. The speed of the prose encourages us not to ask to questions, just be cool and enjoy the ride. Sal is a much more recessive character, shambling behind his friends "as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me." Kerouac regretted that so many readers saw only Dean's wild ride. But I think much of the book's power comes from the tension between these two ideas of manhood. Amazon.com: You quote a line from David Gates, "A 21-year-old applying to a writing program is as ill-advised to cite Jack Kerouac as an influence as O. Henry or H.P. Lovecraft." Has On the Road been a novel more for readers than for writers? Leland: Writers who try to write like Kerouac are bound for trouble. More bad prose has been committed in his name than good. His famous dicta, "No revisions" and "You're a genius all the time," obscure the discipline and erudition behind his work. But there's another way to read On the Road, as a tale of a writer in search of his voice. On Sal's first journey, he arrives in Denver and imagines himself in his friends' eyes, "strange and ragged like the Prophet who has walked across the land to bring the dark Word, and the only Word I had was 'Wow!'" He's not ready to tell his story. But by the end, after Dean abandons him with dysentery in Mexico, Sal receives his writerly mission, from a character Kerouac called the Great Walking Saint, who tells him, "Go moan for man." Now he's ready to write, and compelled to do so. Writers who take Kerouac's work as a license to develop their own voices have greatly benefited, even if they don't sound anything like Kerouac. For the others, there's always bongos and reruns of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Amazon.com: To what extent do you think On the Road is a different book to readers 50 years later? Leland: We're now longer shocked by the sex and drugs. The slang is passé and at times corny. Some of the racial sentimentality is appalling, and we're revolted--in ways the characters aren't--when Dean busts his thumb on Marylou's head. There's a line in the book when the guys are driving into New York that now takes my breath away: "Dean had a sweater wrapped around his ears to keep warm. He said we were a band of Arabs coming to blow up New York." But the tale of passionate friendship and the search for revelation are timeless. These are as elusive and precious in our time as in Sal's, and will be when our grandchildren celebrate the book's hundredth anniversary. And the music still kicks. 574734 16 8 2007 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) total:47|5:12|4:16|3:15|2:3|1:1| 47 176 102 14 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 4 2 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 04:46:54 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 04:51:55 -0800 2008 On the Road and had trouble appreciating it. Leland deals not only with the books historical signifigance to a generation looking for answers, but explains what Kerouac was trying to do literarily (is there such a word?) more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 4 0 false Fri Jan 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 07:23:06 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 05:30:42 -0800 2009 more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 4 0 false Sat Nov 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Oct 08 18:06:55 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 27 12:27:45 -0800 2009
Author John Leland seems to argue as much in this fascinating dissection of the great saint's canonical, "On the Road."

The book's subtitle is, "The Lessons of On the Road (They'...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 3 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 29 05:14:39 -0800 2007 Fri Jan 25 03:09:06 -0800 2008
I did, however, gain some new information and also found the a...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 5 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 15:45:54 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 07 09:54:51 -0800 2007
It is a good and quick read. Important read I think for those, like myself, who don't share western cultural ideals of self and strict rationality, but also have a sense that self-destruction or...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 3 0 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 13:24:28 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 10 12:54:51 -0700 2007 On the Road as an exciting tale of two cool cats finding adventure on the open road, then this book will be a bit of a downer for you.

According to Why Kerouac Matters, On the Road is more a tale of loneliness and compulsion than of freedom and adventure. It is the story ...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Tue Sep 25 09:51:33 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 10:04:38 -0700 2007 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/displ...). Then again, haven't I felt this way about every formerly favorite book from my youth? I cringe when I look at old "favorites" lists, yet I can't deny the effe...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 2 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 07:27:17 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 07:27:38 -0800 2008 On the Road, you would probably find this book fascinating. However, if you have written a thesis on Kerouac (like I have) and done tons of independent research, this won't necessarily point out too many new things and wouldn't b...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 4 0 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 07:56:12 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 07:56:12 -0700 2007 On The Road, the Scroll Version. The author outlines the lessons learned from the book, comparing them with what Kerouac thought the lessons were, along with what history has told us. All-in-all, an excellent guide that made me want to read even more...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Fri Nov 30 06:31:14 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 30 06:35:25 -0800 2007 On The Road at this point...more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Sun Nov 18 06:07:08 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 06:08:50 -0800 2007 On The Road seems a manifesto for youthful rebellion. On the book's 50th anniversary Leland argues that it actually reflects our traditional family values.more...]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Sat Jan 17 18:12:18 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 18:12:18 -0800 2009 On the Road" first before I tackle this book!]]> 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 3 0 false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 21:30:02 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 21:31:17 -0700 2007 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 28 16:57:22 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 09 10:24:31 -0800 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Tue Nov 24 12:13:34 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 12:13:34 -0800 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Fri Nov 20 06:57:22 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 06:57:22 -0800 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Sat Oct 03 10:13:36 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 10:13:36 -0700 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 3 0 false Fri Oct 02 07:58:36 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:53:39 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 07:58:36 -0700 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 0 0 false Fri Sep 18 23:32:33 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 23:32:33 -0700 2009 587925 0670063258 9780670063253 43 14 Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think) 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587925.Why_Kerouac_Matters_The_Lessons_of_On_the_Road 2 0 false Mon Sep 14 12:16:21 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 12:16:21 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=587925