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Use My Name: Jack Kerouac's Forgotten Families
With this fascinating new book, Jim Jones debunks many of the myths surrounding the life and times of Jack Kerouac. Jones concentrates on those whose lives were most affected by Kerouac: daughter Jan Kerouac, wives Edie Parker, Joan Haverty, and Stella Sampac, as well as nephew Paul Blake Jr. Use My Name: Jack Kerouac's Forgotten Families takes its title from advice given to Jan during her second and final meeting with Jack, who encouraged her to profit from the surname she shared with the famous author of On the Road. Sadly, not one of these individuals so closely tied to Kerouac seems to have benefited from the connection, as Jones discovers in his in-depth interview with Jan. She discusses at length her 15 months as a prostitute, her own divorces, her hospitalization, and her life as an author, including a wild European book tour for Baby Driver. Although Kerouac is one of the most “biographied” American writers of our time, Jones offers a new perspective on the King of the Beats and his generation, one in which formerly marginalized figures in the Kerouac story—particularly women—become strong, central characters. He also exposes the cut-throat wheeling and dealing that has plagued the Kerouac estate and that continues today as the various players do battle over the legacy of one of the counterculture's biggest idols.
- GenresBiography
203 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2014
This is a tough one for me. The history of Jack Kerouac is fraught with misinformation, outright lies and obfuscation--most long time fans know this. This book attempts to address his many "families" from his daughter and nephew to his Kerouac family, to his last wife's family and to his ex-wives. I admire the premise of this. The author attempted to write a biography of Kerouac's daughter Jan near the end of her short life but had a falling out of sorts with Jan and did not proceed with that book. This book takes the tapes and transcriptions Jones made with Jan through the short period that they were in contact and also used his own research on Kerouac to fill out the history.
I liked the alternating story lines being presented in each chapter (though there was a bit more repetition here than there really needed to be) each connected to the other through a Kerouac associate or family member. He did a good job in researching the background Kerouac's wives, though very little was mentioned about Kerouac's female companions which I think should probably have been included as Kerouac did keep relationships with some of them for a significant period of time and marriage is not the only way to become family.
The picture presented especially of Jan Kerouac was especially sad--it is sad enough that she was abandoned and ignored but sadder still that she was unable to repair her relationship with her father, especially as they seemed very alike in many ways. Her dissipated life is also quite sad--and far too short. There is a sense of something that could have been developed there but poverty and a strange mother and absent father did not give her much of a fighting chance.
The biggest issue I have with the book is that in a sense I feel that Jim Jones "took sides" as it were with Stella Sampas, Kerouac's last wife. He refers to her in a manner that almost paints her as saintly and that is not the consensus of every person who came in contact with her. I actually do not have an issue with the fact that the Sampas family was enriched by Kerouac's death--Sebastian Sampas was very dear to Jack in life and he knew his last wife for nearly his entire life. However, their management of his estate has been questionable to say the least at times--selling items that should be kept for scholars to private citizens who do not know how to care for or archive the material is very irresponsible and smacks of greed. Stella was not particularly interested in Kerouac's books and was almost more of a nurse maid than a wife in many ways and this does not really qualify her to take care of such an important legacy. I will acknowledge that she was kind enough to include Jan in some of the benefits of the estate which seems only natural to me but which she did not have to do. The problem is with so many differing viewpoints, taking sides seems pretty difficult and for a biographer, not the wisest choice. He became friendly with John Sampas who ended up in charge of the estate and I feel that may have influenced his view of the situation--not that he cannot have an opinion, but it's probably best to present the facts and then let people decide what they think. It's worth noting that Paul Blake, Kerouac's nephew was the person that Jack left his estate to in the event of Kerouac's mother's death and due to the death occurring in Florida which is a dowry state, Stella inherited the money. She was kind to Paul (who Kerouac was very close to, being the last person he wrote to and who Kerouac treated like a surrogate son)and even helped him financially at times, but Paul was very poor as of the writing of this book and that seems terribly unfair. While fairness should come into the equation in estates, a person's last wishes should as well, and Kerouac wished for Paul to be included and in a greater sense he was not. He is one of the few people who seems uninterested in the windfall of Kerouac becoming so famous and his estate becoming so wealthy. It only makes it seem sadder that he was living in a tiny house and had very little but his memories of Jack, when Jack himself wished for him to be enriched.
I also did not enjoy the final chapter in which he seems to be attempting to say that the interest of fans and biographers alike is "parasitical"....I can't really agree with that--he paints himself that way as if he is taking the power away from anyone who would attempt to call him parasitical--which could be something thrown his way as Jan told him some very private things that he publishes here and which she clearly changed her mind about sharing. It just seemed unnecessary. Overall the new information I learned and some of the photos were revealing and added another piece to the puzzle but not the most balanced book.
I liked the alternating story lines being presented in each chapter (though there was a bit more repetition here than there really needed to be) each connected to the other through a Kerouac associate or family member. He did a good job in researching the background Kerouac's wives, though very little was mentioned about Kerouac's female companions which I think should probably have been included as Kerouac did keep relationships with some of them for a significant period of time and marriage is not the only way to become family.
The picture presented especially of Jan Kerouac was especially sad--it is sad enough that she was abandoned and ignored but sadder still that she was unable to repair her relationship with her father, especially as they seemed very alike in many ways. Her dissipated life is also quite sad--and far too short. There is a sense of something that could have been developed there but poverty and a strange mother and absent father did not give her much of a fighting chance.
The biggest issue I have with the book is that in a sense I feel that Jim Jones "took sides" as it were with Stella Sampas, Kerouac's last wife. He refers to her in a manner that almost paints her as saintly and that is not the consensus of every person who came in contact with her. I actually do not have an issue with the fact that the Sampas family was enriched by Kerouac's death--Sebastian Sampas was very dear to Jack in life and he knew his last wife for nearly his entire life. However, their management of his estate has been questionable to say the least at times--selling items that should be kept for scholars to private citizens who do not know how to care for or archive the material is very irresponsible and smacks of greed. Stella was not particularly interested in Kerouac's books and was almost more of a nurse maid than a wife in many ways and this does not really qualify her to take care of such an important legacy. I will acknowledge that she was kind enough to include Jan in some of the benefits of the estate which seems only natural to me but which she did not have to do. The problem is with so many differing viewpoints, taking sides seems pretty difficult and for a biographer, not the wisest choice. He became friendly with John Sampas who ended up in charge of the estate and I feel that may have influenced his view of the situation--not that he cannot have an opinion, but it's probably best to present the facts and then let people decide what they think. It's worth noting that Paul Blake, Kerouac's nephew was the person that Jack left his estate to in the event of Kerouac's mother's death and due to the death occurring in Florida which is a dowry state, Stella inherited the money. She was kind to Paul (who Kerouac was very close to, being the last person he wrote to and who Kerouac treated like a surrogate son)and even helped him financially at times, but Paul was very poor as of the writing of this book and that seems terribly unfair. While fairness should come into the equation in estates, a person's last wishes should as well, and Kerouac wished for Paul to be included and in a greater sense he was not. He is one of the few people who seems uninterested in the windfall of Kerouac becoming so famous and his estate becoming so wealthy. It only makes it seem sadder that he was living in a tiny house and had very little but his memories of Jack, when Jack himself wished for him to be enriched.
I also did not enjoy the final chapter in which he seems to be attempting to say that the interest of fans and biographers alike is "parasitical"....I can't really agree with that--he paints himself that way as if he is taking the power away from anyone who would attempt to call him parasitical--which could be something thrown his way as Jan told him some very private things that he publishes here and which she clearly changed her mind about sharing. It just seemed unnecessary. Overall the new information I learned and some of the photos were revealing and added another piece to the puzzle but not the most balanced book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews