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Jack Kerouac, Prophet of the New Romanticism: A Critical Study of the Published Works of Kerouac and a Comparison of Them to Those of J. D. Salinger, James Purdy, John Knowles, and Ken Kesey
Explores the romantic vision and dominant themes of the novelist, focusing on his role as spokesman for the Beat generation and clarifying autobiographical and confessional aspects of his work.
150 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1976
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April 29, 2026
This really opened my eyes to the broader world surrounding Kerouac and 'On the road'.
So, I'm a big fan of that novel, and when I saw this on the library shelf I knew I had to read it. However, since Kerouac was an adult but highly immature person, reading the thorough details of what some of his ideas and themes represent, and show about his worldview, was a little vexing.
There's one little quote from this book that just really understands Kerouac:
"Kerouac advised that 'reality is details', and that he should 'cut as close to the bone of the detail as words would go', that 'punctuation was the movie-music of prose', and that 'form should be poetically satifying, rather than mechanically demonstrable'.
There are many criticisms to be made of Kerouac, but once you understand that bro was a mix of Buddhist, Catholic-mystic, and that pursuit and acceleration were almost the engine room of transcendent experience, it all begins to make so much sense, and gives real appreciation to his body of works.
So, I'm a big fan of that novel, and when I saw this on the library shelf I knew I had to read it. However, since Kerouac was an adult but highly immature person, reading the thorough details of what some of his ideas and themes represent, and show about his worldview, was a little vexing.
There's one little quote from this book that just really understands Kerouac:
"Kerouac advised that 'reality is details', and that he should 'cut as close to the bone of the detail as words would go', that 'punctuation was the movie-music of prose', and that 'form should be poetically satifying, rather than mechanically demonstrable'.
There are many criticisms to be made of Kerouac, but once you understand that bro was a mix of Buddhist, Catholic-mystic, and that pursuit and acceleration were almost the engine room of transcendent experience, it all begins to make so much sense, and gives real appreciation to his body of works.
Displaying 1 of 1 review