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Kerouac Selected Letters #1
Selected Letters, 1940-1956
Thirty years after his death, popular and academic interest in the life and work of Jack Kerouac have reached an all-time high. The first volume of his selected letters, edited by renowned biographer and Beat scholar Ann Charters, was widely regarded as a vital and momentous contribution to Kerouac scholarship. In Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters 1957-1969, the second and final volume of his correspondence, Charters highlights letters written to his closest friends and colleagues that paint a heart-wrenching portrait of this broken American genius.
The first volume of Kerouac's letters documented the writer's discovery of his "spontaneous prose" method and the inspired composition of 11 books between 1951 and 1956. "The second volume," writes Charters, "demonstrates that the publication of his books and the attendant publicity and hostile critical response literally destroyed him." The book opens with letters written prior to the publication of On The Road, an event that would make Kerouac famous overnight and permanently alter the landscape of American literature, and concludes only days before his death in St. Petersburg, Florida, at age 47.
Charters provides indispensable commentary between the letters to give the biographical background of what was happening in Kerouac's life, while allowing the writer to comment on his own work as much as possible. Charters also includes some letters from his friends, such as Gary Snyder's reaction to being the fictional hero of The Dharma Bums, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's letter to Time magazine defending Kerouac from malicious attacks by critics on his books and lifestyle. Occasionally Kerouac responded to fan mail and queries from academics, and some of these replies have also been included. The few letters from his mother and from his third wife, Stella, show just how dependent the writer was on his family.
Kerouac is often thought of as being very much like the rugged, wandering, Zen-loony characters that populate his books. But by the late '60s, while pals Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, and Peter Orlovsky were on pilgrimage in Nepal, he was living with his mother, getting rejected on credit card applications. A severe alcoholic, Kerouac suffered rapidly declining health, and he grew increasingly bitter and paranoid. Each book by Kerouac that was published in hardcover after The Dharma Bums was quickly remaindered, yet despite this, Kerouac kept writing right up to the day he died.
Unfortunately, his greatest successes came too late for him to enjoy. At least eight works of Kerouac's fiction, poetry, and Buddhist writings have been published posthumously, not to mention the countless studies and biographies that fill the shelves of bookstores each year. In 1999, Jack Kerouac and the Beats are a business unto themselves.
Soon after completing her own doctorate work in American literature at Columbia in 1966, Ann Charters had the crazy idea that the Beats needed a scholar like herself to secure a place for them in our nation's history. Thirty years later it is quite clear just how crucial a role she has played in the literary afterlife of Jack Kerouac.
—Cary Goldstein
656 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
30 people are currently reading
914 people want to read
About the author
Jack Kerouac
361 books11.6k followersJean-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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 30, 2017
I have too many feelings for this book. When I was growing up I used to write letters to dear Jack telling him about things that nobody else in my life at the time wanted to hear. I still have those notes and I'm so glad I found a friend in this man's work. All his books were my constant companions even if I haven't read them all, I've read some of them over and over, and I've collected excerpts and sayings and beliefs and much more that saw me through. And in this book, I see him from the other side of my notes, a person writing back about his life, his dreams, his ridiculous ambitions, the memories his brain refuses to forget, the annoyance at not being able to get published, the friends who didn't act as such often - all of his life just coming through his fingertips, and that's what Kerouac is to me; a book of everything. Simply loved. Five stars.
June 3, 2022
Kerouac’s novels, all of which draw their essence from his own life experiences, should constitute an almost exhaustive collection of reading materials for those interested in reconstructing his biography—in this respect, this first volume of selected letters does not unveil a whole lot of uncharted territory to those already familiar with the author via his literary endeavours. Nonetheless, I found the letters included herein profoundly fascinating, and at times even disquieting: Kerouac writes each letter with such fierce passion and an indefatigable belief in his own literary prowess that quite frequently he gives off the impression of being perpetually stuck in a loop of hypomanic episodes. While admiring his obstinate determination to rejuvenate a literary climate basking in sweet conformity and hypocritical prudishness, I often found myself wishing to somehow transpose myself during his lifetime and pat him on the shoulder, telling him to calm his racing mind a bit and to screw all those literary agents who kept bullshitting him and postponing the publication of his books.
A society and a world disfigured, friendships blossoming and fading, alienated and splenetic youth struggling to make sense of an incoherent and painfully dull post-war America, the frenetic search for a higher meaning and a refuge in the philosophies of the East, the rupture with the values of the forefathers and the birth of novel modes of artistic expression—it’s all here chronicled with great panache by the flagbearer of the Beat generation. Excited to read the subsequent volume as well.
A society and a world disfigured, friendships blossoming and fading, alienated and splenetic youth struggling to make sense of an incoherent and painfully dull post-war America, the frenetic search for a higher meaning and a refuge in the philosophies of the East, the rupture with the values of the forefathers and the birth of novel modes of artistic expression—it’s all here chronicled with great panache by the flagbearer of the Beat generation. Excited to read the subsequent volume as well.
October 28, 2013
Brilliant. Fascinating. Uplifting. Devastating - just four adjectives which begin to describe this collection of letters by Kerouac.
Volume 1, edited by the brilliant Ann Charters, paints a fascinating portrait of a troubled but gifted man from his early adult life up until the time when he was launched into stardrom (1957 with the publication of his classic 'On the Road').
Some of the early letters to Sebastian are really beautiful and we see Kerouac's devotion and commitment to his vocation as writer as the two boyhood friends share favourite authors and even argue about existentialism and other topics. It is so sad when Sammy suddenly dies, which would have been a second devastation to Jack after losing his brother Gerard when he was just a child. There was one heartbreaking story about how Jack ran with joy to break the news to his father about Gerard's passing, thinking that death was a good thing and that Gerard had been taken to a better place. The reproving frowns from the adults made Jack feel extremely guilty and sad.
The second phase of the letters focuses on Jack's life with the Cassadies, especially his fascination with Neal, who became the hero of several of his works. Later, when he has an affair with Carolyn, his correspondence to her increases as his fallout with Neal increases.
Overall, I probably like Jack's letters to Ginsberg most of all because here we have too people who have this amazing friendship based on their mutual love of literature and ideas. It is truly amazing to watch the two minds slinging ideas back and forth. Jack seemed pretty hard on Ginsberg at times and Ginsberg seemed to just take it, very cool, in his stride. Jack did also show that he loved Allen deeply, calling him a mad but brilliant 'saint'.
In the last two years of volume one, spanning the years 1955 and 1956, which seem to be relatively happy years in Jack's life, despite the occasional binge when Jack goes off the rails because he is so frustrated that Sterling Lord and Malcolm Cowley are unable to publish him, a different picture of the man begins to emerge. We start to see the shadow of his father, Leo Kerouac - a bitter, paranoid man with incorrigible prejudices against Jews etc. - overtake his personality a bit. Nevertheless, Kerouac is understandably upset with his lack of success. It almost seems like a black comedy at times. Jack's manuscript of On the Road or Doctor Sax or Visions of Cody (originally Visions of Neal) gets rejected and rejected and rejected. Editors and publishing houses just did not have the balls to publish anything outside a very narrow spectrum of humdrum hackneyed prose writing. Although there have been notable exceptions heretofore - Finnegans Wake for instance?
So what does Jack do after this goes on for a while? He writes ANOTHER book, and another one, and another one. It is almost like Jack KNEW the clock was ticking and that he had to spill everything out of his mind and get everything down on paper quick.
I especially love Jack's letters to Snyder and Whalen in 1955 and 1956. Although I am not a big fan of Whalen's rather obscure poetry, I am a HUGE fan of Snyder's and I would love to one day read Snyder's undoubtedly clever and deep replies to Jack's witty letters. If only Jack had gone to Japan with Gary as he was planning to, things might have turned out very different. (I of course ponder this as I currently live in Tokyo and wonder what Jack would have thought of the place).
All in all, this is a masterpiece of scholarship and stands as a great book in Jack's increasing canon. Thank you Ann Charters. If the beats ever decide to erect a statue in Heaven, they should erect a statue of you first! Incidentally, I just heard a few days ago that yet another Kerouac book (an incomplete novel/fragment) is to published in 2014. Vive M. Carroway!
If you are a fan of Jack or the beats in general, then definitely, definitely do not miss out on this one! It's a beauty. Cassady's letters were good but Jack's are far superior in terms of content and depth. I cannot recommend this enough. It is sensational. One of the best books I have read this year. I never thought a book of letters would be so interesting. Five stars!
Volume 1, edited by the brilliant Ann Charters, paints a fascinating portrait of a troubled but gifted man from his early adult life up until the time when he was launched into stardrom (1957 with the publication of his classic 'On the Road').
Some of the early letters to Sebastian are really beautiful and we see Kerouac's devotion and commitment to his vocation as writer as the two boyhood friends share favourite authors and even argue about existentialism and other topics. It is so sad when Sammy suddenly dies, which would have been a second devastation to Jack after losing his brother Gerard when he was just a child. There was one heartbreaking story about how Jack ran with joy to break the news to his father about Gerard's passing, thinking that death was a good thing and that Gerard had been taken to a better place. The reproving frowns from the adults made Jack feel extremely guilty and sad.
The second phase of the letters focuses on Jack's life with the Cassadies, especially his fascination with Neal, who became the hero of several of his works. Later, when he has an affair with Carolyn, his correspondence to her increases as his fallout with Neal increases.
Overall, I probably like Jack's letters to Ginsberg most of all because here we have too people who have this amazing friendship based on their mutual love of literature and ideas. It is truly amazing to watch the two minds slinging ideas back and forth. Jack seemed pretty hard on Ginsberg at times and Ginsberg seemed to just take it, very cool, in his stride. Jack did also show that he loved Allen deeply, calling him a mad but brilliant 'saint'.
In the last two years of volume one, spanning the years 1955 and 1956, which seem to be relatively happy years in Jack's life, despite the occasional binge when Jack goes off the rails because he is so frustrated that Sterling Lord and Malcolm Cowley are unable to publish him, a different picture of the man begins to emerge. We start to see the shadow of his father, Leo Kerouac - a bitter, paranoid man with incorrigible prejudices against Jews etc. - overtake his personality a bit. Nevertheless, Kerouac is understandably upset with his lack of success. It almost seems like a black comedy at times. Jack's manuscript of On the Road or Doctor Sax or Visions of Cody (originally Visions of Neal) gets rejected and rejected and rejected. Editors and publishing houses just did not have the balls to publish anything outside a very narrow spectrum of humdrum hackneyed prose writing. Although there have been notable exceptions heretofore - Finnegans Wake for instance?
So what does Jack do after this goes on for a while? He writes ANOTHER book, and another one, and another one. It is almost like Jack KNEW the clock was ticking and that he had to spill everything out of his mind and get everything down on paper quick.
I especially love Jack's letters to Snyder and Whalen in 1955 and 1956. Although I am not a big fan of Whalen's rather obscure poetry, I am a HUGE fan of Snyder's and I would love to one day read Snyder's undoubtedly clever and deep replies to Jack's witty letters. If only Jack had gone to Japan with Gary as he was planning to, things might have turned out very different. (I of course ponder this as I currently live in Tokyo and wonder what Jack would have thought of the place).
All in all, this is a masterpiece of scholarship and stands as a great book in Jack's increasing canon. Thank you Ann Charters. If the beats ever decide to erect a statue in Heaven, they should erect a statue of you first! Incidentally, I just heard a few days ago that yet another Kerouac book (an incomplete novel/fragment) is to published in 2014. Vive M. Carroway!
If you are a fan of Jack or the beats in general, then definitely, definitely do not miss out on this one! It's a beauty. Cassady's letters were good but Jack's are far superior in terms of content and depth. I cannot recommend this enough. It is sensational. One of the best books I have read this year. I never thought a book of letters would be so interesting. Five stars!
August 18, 2016
I didn't really finish this! Some of it was interesting; in Kerouac's early letters I could see his inner struggle, his thoughts regarding his two personalities. His manic desire to always be around people and his depressive struggle with wanting to be alone and write, this struggle was also his awareness that something was wrong with him. To me, Kerouac seemed bipolar. But after reading about 300 pages of letters, I had had enough. It was interesting to read what he thought about his changing writing style, for awhile. Then it got tedious. Sorry Jack, I still love you.
April 22, 2020
As good as an autobiography peering into the mind of one of the 20th Century’s most original prose stylists. This volume covered the years before Kerouac became famous with the publication of his masterpiece ON THE ROAD in 1957. I am anxious to read Volume two.
July 19, 2025
hhhhh bah on byl blazen blaznik blaznivej blbec trochu moc zahledenej do sebe ale nekonecna hvezda urcite...
March 24, 2011
Very readable collection gives very good insights into Kerouac's life particulary from Town and the City through On The Road. Pestering his literary agents, unrealistic plans pitched to his friends, certainly more personal sniping than in his work. Surprisingly frequent anti-gay remarks and interesting to see how he treats Allen Ginsburg as very much a kid-brother. His pathological avoidance of paying child support is unsettling and his inability to exist without the monetary support of his mother is sad.
The Buddhism theme gets pretty tired pretty quickly. The later letters to Gary Snyder and Phil Whalen repeat themselves regarding events, most likely short term memory loss from drug use.
The swings from monk-like studyings to drunken reveries then the regrets following is common.
The Buddhism theme gets pretty tired pretty quickly. The later letters to Gary Snyder and Phil Whalen repeat themselves regarding events, most likely short term memory loss from drug use.
The swings from monk-like studyings to drunken reveries then the regrets following is common.
December 10, 2011
amazing insight into Kerouac...small glimpses into his breakthroughs as a writer and as a person...how he grows from ambition into artist, the letters in the middle to neal casssidy, where he just goes off, makes that leap, they read like lost passages from on the road-also includes letters from ginsberg and burroughs...very very awesome
March 24, 2008
These letters from Jack Kerouac to his friends lets you into the world of Mr. K than what appeared on the pages of "On the Road".
Want to read
October 23, 2012Best quote in the book so far goes something like this...and I think this is perhaps the most important think Kerouac said(something similar):
"There is a age of collectivism upon us. I feel it is my job to teach beauty to the collectivists, and teach collectivism to those who love beauty."
"There is a age of collectivism upon us. I feel it is my job to teach beauty to the collectivists, and teach collectivism to those who love beauty."
February 18, 2008
Great book for fans of Kerouac.
July 28, 2019
From the January '51 letters to C:
"The nights in California are like indoors; there’s no weather, no elements. Everybody is in the big livingroom of life. Cars pass by, trolleys clang; groups scuffle by; newsboys shout, and you look up and there is no sky, just the ceiling of strange California time."
"Who's laid down the laws of 'literary' form? Who says that a work must be chronological; that the reader wants to know what happened anyhow? Just so long as 'it happened', as Allen said in the madhouse. (Anyhow it happened.)"
Ginsberg stated that K was developing a prose style in his letters to C that "was the long confessional of two buddies telling each other everything that happened, every detail, every cunt-hair in the grass included, every tiny eyeball flick of orange neon flashed past in Chicago by the bus station; all the back of the brain imagery."
From a '55 letter to C:
Please don't go thinking "Here's old shittypants Kerouac again coming on with the buddy-buddy talk now that he's been away from me long enough to have gotten over his latest imaginary peeve," etc.
"The nights in California are like indoors; there’s no weather, no elements. Everybody is in the big livingroom of life. Cars pass by, trolleys clang; groups scuffle by; newsboys shout, and you look up and there is no sky, just the ceiling of strange California time."
"Who's laid down the laws of 'literary' form? Who says that a work must be chronological; that the reader wants to know what happened anyhow? Just so long as 'it happened', as Allen said in the madhouse. (Anyhow it happened.)"
Ginsberg stated that K was developing a prose style in his letters to C that "was the long confessional of two buddies telling each other everything that happened, every detail, every cunt-hair in the grass included, every tiny eyeball flick of orange neon flashed past in Chicago by the bus station; all the back of the brain imagery."
From a '55 letter to C:
Please don't go thinking "Here's old shittypants Kerouac again coming on with the buddy-buddy talk now that he's been away from me long enough to have gotten over his latest imaginary peeve," etc.
April 26, 2025
Interesting letters highlighting Kerouac's life from his arrival at Columbia to his publication of "On the Road". I didn't realize Jack was a running back ont the football team, and joined the Merchant Marine in 1942 (not escape the Draft, he hadn't been called up) and in 1943 tried to become a Navy Pilot and was later discharged as an average Seaman due to "Mental Issues".
While patriotic, Keroauc had an "artistic temperment" and had trouble adjusting to discipline and wasn't a good fit for the military. The other fascinating thing was his trouble in getting "On the Road" published. The Publishing "Industry" then, as now, was less interested in artistic merit, then in making $$ and pushing their Liberal politics. And helping out those authors that had "connections".
While patriotic, Keroauc had an "artistic temperment" and had trouble adjusting to discipline and wasn't a good fit for the military. The other fascinating thing was his trouble in getting "On the Road" published. The Publishing "Industry" then, as now, was less interested in artistic merit, then in making $$ and pushing their Liberal politics. And helping out those authors that had "connections".
August 18, 2025
Letters can be tough made for great morning read and Koffie, but liked some of em and bored with others and as always with JK no idea what he was on about in more. Enjoyed the beginning years greatly and was cool to see him get published gain confidence so so poorly and then at the end know he was close to a great victory publishing on the road. Thought maybe I should’ve of saved it for after some other books, but now I have a clear sense of where he was at during the early writing years and always been very interested in how he developed his writing style
March 15, 2018
Kerouac is a lot to take in, sometimes overwhelming. He has a very busy mind and restless feet but doesn't offer much detail. It is as if he glosses over what he sees. There is a "realness" that is lacking in his writing, quite possibly it lacks intimacy. However, that said, I did finish the entire book ... so it is not a waste of time ... but I wouldn't recommend it. If you are interested in a great book of letters ... read Steinbeck. :o)
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September 14, 2021Better at the beginning than the end. Towards the end rather than adventures and writing Jack mostly discusses his frustrations mixed in with many long letters about various subjects related to Buddhism. Not a critique of his, of course, but not sure each of these needed to be included. Seems to me this wold read better with much of that excluded for redundancy.
December 27, 2023
Letters always a great way to understand the artist bc it’s the raw material of which biography is made. Good insight into the complexity and vulnerabilities of this figurehead. Lots of honesty and early optimism
December 16, 2017
This collection of letters makes for a fascinating portrait of Kerouac, almost better than any biography could be.
December 3, 2018
It's Kerouac......of course!!
September 13, 2021
Kerouac's enthusiasm is contagious.
August 16, 2008
Back alleys of the writing life, Dostoyevsky studies and influences, comment on F. Scott Fitzgerald and others, records of production, word counts, typewriters available or not, misgivings about drunkenness and lots of drunkenness, forgotten vows, imaginary potentialities, money negotiations and worries as Faulkner noted (or was it Conrad) make up a salient thread of correspondence, negotiating in fact mainstream success (late coming but nevertheless full expected---and when it did...) wow, the mushy heartfeltness, the dismal reckless forgetting, the casual Fitzgerald-like self-destruction. Ah.
September 5, 2016
Very interesting to read the long process to publication with its ups and downs. I didn't know he was a ranaway dad - this is disappointing and yet likely how he had time to write so much yet still unhonourable. I wonder what books might have come about had he moved away from SP. He certainly had a high tolerance for many kinds of people. Personally I couldn't stand that Ginsberg with his holy asshole garbage poetry so JK is a better dude than me in that regard. My favorite of his is still VofG and On the Road (especially the back of the pick up ride with those two blonde corn feed Minnasodians (sic).
January 5, 2013
He was so much better before he stopped making sense and overindulging in drugs. Now I'm afraid to reread On the Road for the first time in a decade. I did like what he said to Ginsberg about writing an early draft of On the Road:
"I wrote that book on COFFEE...remember said rule. Benny, tea, anything I KNOW none as good as coffee for real mental power kicks."
Never tried bennies or smoking weed, but I too find COFFEE good for "mental power kicks," though sometimes there's too much kicking in too many directions and nothing comes out of it.
"I wrote that book on COFFEE...remember said rule. Benny, tea, anything I KNOW none as good as coffee for real mental power kicks."
Never tried bennies or smoking weed, but I too find COFFEE good for "mental power kicks," though sometimes there's too much kicking in too many directions and nothing comes out of it.
August 14, 2015
Chris King
Ness Terrace
Hamilton
Dear Goodreads
Fantastic insight into the life of Mr Kerouac.
Made me want to write letters to people and that can't be a bad thing.
...and he could be a cantankerous old get at times!
Yours
Chris King
November 16, 2013
Warning. This book may change your opinion of Jack who turned from a starry eyed traveler in to an alcoholic cynic. His views (extremely chauvinistic and sexist) against women shocked me. I went from having a crush on this writer to seeing him as a real person. It didn't change my opinion of him as a brilliant person, but it did make my fantasies of him being alive and is hanging out die a death that only a dream can take.
January 1, 2012
If there were much doubt that Kerouac's novels were largely embellished journals, this book will surely cast those doubts out. These letters read very much like his novels. They are for good or ill also a window into what he was probably more accurately like, as occasionally we are given a window into the mind of a striving artist with all its petty and jealous thoughts.
April 20, 2015
Che vita dev'essere stata quella di Kerouak!
Sballo, alcool, droga, viaggi, lavori saltuari, libri letti e scritti... eternamente in ballo tra la costa est ed ovest degli Stati Uniti, sempre alla ricerca di nuovi stimoli, di nuove avventure!
Gli anni della beat generation hanno un fascino magnetico, soprattutto nelle parole di Jack Kerouak!
Sballo, alcool, droga, viaggi, lavori saltuari, libri letti e scritti... eternamente in ballo tra la costa est ed ovest degli Stati Uniti, sempre alla ricerca di nuovi stimoli, di nuove avventure!
Gli anni della beat generation hanno un fascino magnetico, soprattutto nelle parole di Jack Kerouak!
September 13, 2016
I'd never read a book of letters until now, and it was much more engaging than I had anticipated. It was interesting to see the development of his spontaneous prose writing style, and the bickering that went on between J.K and his friends.
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July 31, 200892K
March 19, 2014
my hetero life mate
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews