Jack Kerouac - Tumblr Posts
30.11.23
“And I said, 'That last thing is what you can't get, Carlo. Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep on living in hopes of catching it once and for all.’” —Jack Kerouac
Reading week has come and gone, and apparently so has all of November? Just submitted all my law review assignments and am beginning to desperately prep CANs. I know grades aren’t important seeing as I already have a job, but my clerkship interview went really well and there’s a curve to fight.
I love desert landscapes now. It represents an American aesthetic that I find very appealing. Reading about the Beat Generation, I was introduced to Jack Kerouac and his travels. The desert appeals to me because of its vastness, and silence. I wonder if I would like being there, but I guess it doesn't matter because I know I will enjoy the journey. Like Jack, I am an explorer. But not just that, I want to live and breathe in the world, and get my hands dirty. Usually in the beat books the man does all of the exploring while his girlfriend or wife stays home and supports him/ takes care of his children. That's not for me. I want to create a life full of adventure and passion. In 1950's society, harder said than done though.
𝙰 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜
…𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆.
✍🏽🐇😆🧡
…. “𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉,
𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.”
–𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑲𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄
“And I realize that no matter where I am, whether in a little room full of thought, or in this endless universe of stars and mountains, it’s all in my mind.”
— Jack Kerouac, Lonesome Traveler
“A poet is a blind optimist. The world is against him for many reasons. But the poet persists. He believes that he is on the right track, no matter what any of his fellow men say. In his eternal search for truth, the poet is alone. He tries to be timeless in a society built on time.”
― Jack Kerouac, Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings
“I hope you get where you’re going and be happy when you do.”
― Jack Kerouac, On The Road
“Goddammit everybody in the world wants an explanation for your acts and for your very being.”
— Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Yeah it strikes me that "Mexico City Blues" is the kind of work that would appeal to a teenager, especially a smart one. Not that it's good, but it's got that kind of faux coolness that would appeal to a teen, I think. I'm trying to remember.
Bob Dylan & Allen Ginsberg at the gravesite of Jack Kerouac, Edson Cemetery, Lowell, MA—The Rolling Thunder Revue, November 1975 © Ken Regan.
“Someone handed me “Mexico City Blues” in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1959 and it blew my mind. It was the first poetry that spoke my own language.”
—Bob Dylan to Allen Ginsberg when asked how he knew of Kerouac’s work
“I promise I shall never give up, and that I’ll die yelling and laughing.”
— Jack Kerouac
We are sealed in our own little melancholy atmospheres, like planets, and revolving around the sun, our common but distant desire.
-- Jack Kerouac, Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsberg: The Letters
JACK KEROUAC NAVAL RESERVE ENLISTMENT MUG SHOT (1943 - COLORIZED)
Kill Your Darlings
--William S. Burroughs: Show me the man who is both sober and happy, and I will show you the crinkled anus of a lying asshole.