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The Jack Kerouac Collection
Boxed set collecting Poetry For The Beat Generation (1959), Blues and Haikus (1959), and Readings By Jack Kerouac On The Beat Generation (1960), remastered with bonus tracks.
- GenresPoetry
Audio CD
First published June 1, 1990
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About the author
Jack Kerouac
363 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 2, 2024
"Oh, what a sweet story it is when you hear Charlie Parker tell in!"
April 10, 2007
If you like poetry, this is a must. Kerouac reads better than any other poet. The poems/prose selected for these readings are great as page poems as well. But Jack's voice takes them to a higher level. Don't be a square--listen to Jack speak!
March 28, 2007
A must have for all Kerouac fans!!! His voice is golden. Once hearing his voice, it is impossible to seperate the words from the voice.
November 6, 2007
it all falls into place when you hear it coming from him.
November 6, 2007
how great he was at reading his own work aloud..
May 1, 2021
It’s amazing when you can hear your favorite authors voice, their subtle mannerisms, their human qualities..especially hearing Jack. He speaks, like he wrote, and wrote how he spoke. In this collection, it opens a small window, that peers into Jacks life from multiple directions, influences, artistic styles etc. On top of all that, there is a booklet, that has pictures and stories I’ve yet to see/hear....and I thought I knew everything already! Get a copy!
August 20, 2016
This is Jack's work at its purest form. It's great hearing him, recorded with jazz musicians, the music form that he found so inspiring and creative. I feel like if his career had gone in a different direction there would have been more of these, each one more experimental in form and thought. But alas, not to be, but what we do have is still fantastic. Each album has at least one piece that stands out for me. on "Poetry For The Beat Generation" there's "October In The Railroad Earth" and "Charlie Parker", with the next album "Blues & Haikus" there's "Hard Hearted Old Farmer", and lastly, on the third album there's "San Francisco Scene (Beat Generation)", and an early history of bop.
Jack is a fantastic reader, though i don't know about other people's material but with his own, he really performs the wily material the way it should be read. What he aimed for was the wanderlust of not only the road but life itself, the little details, the moments. The beatific, as it were. The beautiful. It must be read that same way. His writing is a personality of someone sitting beside you at a bar, cold drinks in hand while he tells a long tale with his hands and face expressing every word and phrase. There's life to the words, volume. Language is key here.
If you've read any of his work and wonder how the words actually SOUND, this is a perfect place to go. It's a shame (yet another one) that we don't have a video of him reading, but maybe if you close your eyes and listen hard enough, you can see him waving and pointing and expressing his art with momentum and vibrancy, all sincerely and certain that we will listen.
Jack is a fantastic reader, though i don't know about other people's material but with his own, he really performs the wily material the way it should be read. What he aimed for was the wanderlust of not only the road but life itself, the little details, the moments. The beatific, as it were. The beautiful. It must be read that same way. His writing is a personality of someone sitting beside you at a bar, cold drinks in hand while he tells a long tale with his hands and face expressing every word and phrase. There's life to the words, volume. Language is key here.
If you've read any of his work and wonder how the words actually SOUND, this is a perfect place to go. It's a shame (yet another one) that we don't have a video of him reading, but maybe if you close your eyes and listen hard enough, you can see him waving and pointing and expressing his art with momentum and vibrancy, all sincerely and certain that we will listen.
August 24, 2008
Well, I didn't actually read it of course, but it made for a lot of great listening.
October 23, 2012
These are CDs, so you don't actually read them, but they are amazing.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews