Stephanie Nikolopoulos's Blog, page 49

The How-To Books in Men’s Apartments

  The other day a friend invited me over to his apartment for the first time. As I surveyed the apartment—Christmas lights as everyday decorations, a well-stocked bar, a computer as the focal point of the décor: the essential makings of a man cave—I spotted a bookshelf. When I’d first met him, we’d talked about [...]

Proof Copy of “Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’”

Paul took this photo of our book Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road.”  As you can see, it’s all laid out now! It was really important to me that the book not only contain great content but that it also was visually appealing. I love that typewriter font! The book [...]

Merry Christmas! …Or Something Like That

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” ~Luke 2:14 From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish you all a merry, merry Christmas! May your holiday be bright, full of merriment, and whimsical! In the past few month, I’ve heard from friends and fellow writers who [...]

Christmas with Jack Kerouac

  I spotted this festive train outside the National Streetcar Museum when I was in Jack Kerouac’s hometown of Lowell, Mass., earlier this month. Looking for a Kerouac-related Christmas story? Here’s a snippet from the scroll version of On the Road in which Kerouac describes his Christmas: “At Christmas 1948 my mother and I went [...]

Jack Kerouac’s Angry Postcard to His Editor

In 1956, Viking Press expressed an interest in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.  The author had been writing and rewriting his novel for years, and Kerouac was growing impatient as it languished in the publishing house.  He was working with an editorial consultant named Malcolm Cowley, who had first gained renown for his 1929 book [...]

Titles Impact Sales: The Many Titles of On the Road

At the premiere reading of Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, I read a section from a chapter that mentioned that Kerouac titled an early draft of his road trip novel Gone on the Road.  Isn’t it amazing how one word can completely change the perception of a work? [...]

List of Reviews of “On the Road”

[official film still from On the Road] Yesterday, I posted my review of the On the Road film adaptation. As LeVar Burton used to say on Reading Rainbow, “But you don’t have to take my word for it.” Here are some other reviews of the film On the Road: The Beat Museum: “Everyone knows a  [...]

“On the Road” Review

On Friday, December 14, I attended a special sneak preview of On the Road at IFC Center in Greenwich Village. It was history in the making. At long last, Jack Kerouac’s seminal road novel had made its way to the silver screen. Kerouac himself wrote a lot about going to the movies, and he wanted his novel [...]

Beat Poetry Competition at the Nuyorican

Checked out the Beat poetry slam at The Nuyorican Poets Cafe over on the Lower East Side during Beat Week. “We’re excited to be here in a proper poet’s cafe, celebrating a proper poet,” said host Mahogany Browne. The Nuyorican was cofounded by Miguel Algarin, who knew Jack Kerouac back in the day. Browne encouraged [...]

Gift Guide for the Beat Reader

The writers associated with the Beat Generation were anti-Consumerism, and I have a hard time believing they’d want anyone to buy beatnik merch. They would want you to buy and read their literature instead. However, if you have friends who love Beat literature, you may be hesitant to buy them On the Road because chances [...]