Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary

iconoclast Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...

and, alongside

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his method of spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as

Catholic spirituality Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, i ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, promiscuity,

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

, drugs, poverty, and travel. Kerouac used the name "Duluoz Legend" to refer to his collected autobiographical works.

Fiction

*''

The Town and the City ''The Town and the City'' is a novel by Jack Kerouac, published by Harcourt Brace in 1950. This was the first major work published by Kerouac, who later became famous for his second novel '' On the Road'' (1957). Like all of Jack Kerouac's major ...

'' (written 1946–1949; published 1950) *'' On the Road'' (written 1951; published 1957) *''

The Subterraneans ''The Subterraneans'' is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with Alene Lee (1931–1991), an African-American woman, in Greenwich Village, New York. It was the first wor ...

'' (written 1953; published 1958) *''

The Dharma Bums ''The Dharma Bums'' is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The basis for the novel's semi-fictional accounts are events occurring years after the events of ''On the Road''. The main characters are the narrator Ray Smith, based on ...

'' (written November 1957; published 1958) *''

Doctor Sax ''Doctor Sax'' (''Doctor Sax: Faust Part Three'') is a novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1959. Kerouac wrote it in 1952 while living with William S. Burroughs in Mexico City. The novel was written quickly in the improvisatory style Kerouac ca ...

'' (written June 1952; published 1959) *''

Maggie Cassidy ''Maggie Cassidy'' is a novel by the American writer Jack Kerouac, first published in 1959. It is a largely autobiographical work about Kerouac's early life in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 1938 to 1939, and chronicles his real-life relationship wit ...

'' (written Jan. 2, 1953; published 1959) *''

Tristessa : ''This article refers to the short novel by Jack Kerouac. For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see Tristessa (song)'' ''Tristessa'' is a novella by Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac set in Mexico City. It is based on his relationship with a Me ...

'' (written summer 1955 and fall 1956; published 1960) *''

Lonesome Traveler ''Lonesome Traveler'' is a non-fiction collection of short essays and sketches by American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, published in 1960. It is a compilation of Kerouac's journal entries about traveling the United States, Mexico, Morocco, ...

'' (1960) *'' Book of Dreams'' (written 1952–1960; published 1960) *'' Big Sur'' (written October 1961; published 1962) *''

Visions of Gerard ''Visions of Gerard'' is a novel by American Beat writer Jack Kerouac. Written in the first two weeks of 1956, while staying with his sister Caroline in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Kerouac's novel would not be published until 1963. It is the fir ...

'' (written January 1956; published 1963) *'' Desolation Angels'' (written fall 1956 and summer 1961; published 1965) *'' Satori in Paris'' (1966) *''

Vanity of Duluoz ''Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935–46'' is a 1968 semi-autobiographical novel by Jack Kerouac. The book describes the adventures of Kerouac's alter ego, Jack Duluoz, covering the period of his life between 1935 and 1946. The boo ...

'' (written 1967; published 1968) ;Posthumous fiction *'' The Sea Is My Brother'' (written 1942; first published in Slovak translation 2010 Bratislava, Slovakia, European Union: Artfórum) *'' The Haunted Life and Other Writings'', Novel (written 1944; published 2014) *'' Orpheus Emerged'', novella (written 1944–1945; published 2000) *'' And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks'', with

(written 1945; published 2008) *'' La vie est d'hommage'', edition of all previously unpublished French writings, includes some non-fiction (written 1950-1965; published 2016) *" The Unknown Kerouac: Rare, Unpublished & Newly Translated Writings" (1946-1968; published 2016) *''

Visions of Cody ''Visions of Cody'' is an experimental novel by Jack Kerouac. It was written in 1951–1952, and though not published in its entirety until 1972, it had by then achieved an underground reputation. Since its first printing, ''Visions of Cody'' has ...

'' (written 1951–1952; excerpts published December 1959; novel published 1972) *'' Pic'' (written 1951 and 1969, published 1971)

Poetry

*'' Pull My Daisy'' (late 1940s) *''

Mexico City Blues ''Mexico City Blues'' is a poetry, poem published by Jack Kerouac in 1959 composed of 242 "choruses" or stanzas. Written between 1954 and 1957, the poem is the product of Kerouac's spontaneous prose, his Buddhism, and his disappointment at his fa ...

'' (1955; published 1959) *'' The Scripture of the Golden Eternity'' (1956; published 1960) (meditations, koans, poems) *''

Scattered Poems ''Scattered Poems'' is a collection of spontaneous poetry by Jack Kerouac. These poems were gathered from underground and ephemeral publications, as wells as from notebooks kept by the author. Some poems include: "San Francisco Blues," the varia ...

'' (1945–1968; published 1971) *''

Book of Sketches ''Book of Sketches'' is a collection of spontaneous prose poetry by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, published posthumously in 2006. The poems, written in 1952 and 1953 in a notebook carried in his breast pocket, describe Kerouac's tr ...

'' (1952–1957) *'' Old Angel Midnight'' (1956; published 1973) *'' Trip Trap: Haiku on the Road from SF to NY'' (1959; published 1973) (with Albert Saijo and Lew Welch) *'' Heaven and Other Poems'' (1957–1962; published 1977) *'' San Francisco Blues'' (1954; published 1983) *'' Pomes All Sizes'' (compiled 1960; published 1992) *'' Book of Blues'' (1954–1961) *'' Book of Haikus'' (published 2003) *''Collected Poems'' (published 2012, volume 231 in Library of America) *''Old Angel Midnight'' (City Lights Publishers, 2016 edition)

Other work and non-fiction

*'' Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings'' (1936–1943; published 1999) *''

Good Blonde & Others ''Good Blonde & Others'' is a collection of works by Jack Kerouac. This collection includes short stories, essays, articles, literary criticism, and his essentials for spontaneous prose. It is largely seen as a look into the non-fiction life of B ...

'' (1955; published 1993) *'' Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha'' (1955; published 2008) *'' Some of the Dharma'' (1953–1956; published 1997) *'' Beat Generation'', play (1957, published 2005)

Letters, journals, interviews

*'' Dear Carolyn: Letters to Carolyn Cassady'' (1983) (1000 copies Edited By Arthur and Kit Knight) * *'' Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, 1957-1969'' *'' Windblown World: The Journals of Jack Kerouac'' (1947–1954) *'' Safe In Heaven Dead'' (1990) (Interview fragments published by Hanuman Books) *'' Conversations with Jack Kerouac'' (Interviews) *'' Empty Phantoms'' (Interviews) *'' Departed Angels: The Lost Paintings'' *'' Door Wide Open'' (2000) (by Joyce Johnson. Includes letters from Jack Kerouac) *'' Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg: The Letters'' (2010)

Collections

Discography

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Poetry for the Beat Generation ''Poetry for the Beat Generation'' is the debut album of United States, American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac and was originally released in 1959. Initial performances of these poems were poorly received by an audience at the Village Vangard in ...

(1959)'' (LP) *'' Blues and Haikus (1959)'' (LP) *''

Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation ''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'' is the third and final spoken word album by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, released in January 1960 on Verve Records. The album was recorded during 1959, prior to the publication of ...

(1960)'' (LP) *'' The Jack Kerouac Collection'' (1990) ox(Audio CD Collection of 3 LPs) *'' The Jack Kerouac Romnibus(1995)'' (a multimedia CD-ROM project coupled with a book) (Ralph Lombreglia and Kate Bernhardt) *''

Jack Kerouac Reads On the Road ''Jack Kerouac Reads On the Road'' is a compilation album by American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, released posthumously on September 14, 1999. The centrepiece of the record is a 28-minute recitation by Kerouac from his book ''On the Road'' that ...

'' (1999) (Audio CD) *'' Doctor Sax and Great World Snake'' (2003) (Play Adaptation with Audio CD)

Filmography

References

External links

Who’s Who: A Guide to Kerouac’s Characters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerouac Jack Bibliography Bibliographies by writer Bibliographies of American writers Postmodern literature bibliographies