Kerouac was an original "” a damn fine writer
i think the real question is not the man, the myth, but his writing. was it original for the times? did he break new ground, like jackson pollock? fuck the speed and whatever else he took or didn't, it's the words that count.
for the record, i'm a big fan. and his books (some good; some great) were milestones for american writing. all the ivory tower bullshit being taught was blown apart; the same way bukowski did.
hence, my respect for JK.
he was pro-vietnam (ugh!), etc. but i don't give a shit about that. i care about what he wrote. his art; his craft. i think he even disliked hippies and all those who praised him "” but they weren't praising him, rather, what he wrote.
(what's amazing is his writings seem to contradict what he believed in in the real world...was writing his escape into his real world? he was a product of his times, like all of us; and all artists.)
unfortunately, he turned into a blubbering fool at the end. bloated, drunk, hanging out at local pubs and making an ass of himself. people here in florida still tell stories about him, drinking with him, etc.
i also know people in NY who knew him, hung out with him, when he was just getting on the fame bandwagon; and he hung out in northport all the time. they recall him as quiet, cool, a good guy "” and have lots of pics of the time hanging with JK.
but if anyone had met vincent van gogh today, and watched some of his antics, would you think less of his art, his craft? supposedly pablo picasso was a fucking prick. what does that have to do with what he created? does that make him a bad artist, or undesirable to collect?
methinks not.
people die. original art endures.
pax
