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Right. I was happy not to have read Kerouac until I was in college. I don't think that I'd have "gotten" On the Road, in the same way, if I had been 17 or 18. The same with Zen. I think I got a lot more out of them because I first read them when I was a little older.

Yeah, yeah. Black Flag isn't quite as funny as it used to be. But, to get back to Jack, I always sort of got the feeling that he really resented the "hijacking" of his ideology (to the extent that he would have said he had an ideology) by later groups. And, as you say, towards the end of his...

I don't know how interesting they are, but here are some details about me: I tie a knot in the exact middle of my boot laces so that they never get too far to one side or the other. I've never paid for a haircut. I always pick up pennies I find on the ground. I was two months pre-mature...

Yeah, I figured that that was where you were coming from. As you say, it can be fun to get people to step a little outside of the vein they may currently be working. Also, if I remember correctly, Kerouac has something to say, towards the end of Big Sur about a crowed of hippies that he...

For what it is worth, I think that there is a valid reason for not linking Kerouac with his "successors" in the hippie and yippie movements. Or rather, I think that most people assume too close a link between them. If I remember my Kerouac correctly (and I may be wrong), he himself had little...

Amen and Amen!

How nice to hear someone else mention one of my favorite Kerouac books. I always really liked the story he put in there about visiting William Carlos Williams. Also, I think that his disillusionment with, and bitterness about, the world around him had reached just the right pitch during this...

I have been going to flea markets for as long as I can remember. In fact, a flea market purchase when I was about 12 or 13 is what pushed me over the edge into compulsive book buying. Now flea markets are part of my job, and they seem like less fun all the time. The near constant exposure to...

The greatest one I can think of is Husker Du covering the theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore Show. It's pretty rockin'. I also think there must be some in Gov't Mule's catalogue, 'cause Warren will play almost anything. I wish I could think of more. Some of the Johnny Cash covers were...

There is a sequel called Zombies of the Gene Pool.

Some other ("Literature-type") books by American authors I would consider particularly "American", but off the beaten path: A Fan's Notes - Fred Exley A Short History of a Small Place - T.R. Pearson The Moviegoer - Walker Percy Desolation Angels - Jack Kerouac For a really interesting and...

Wrong number maybe?

Of course, the answer to that question depends on who you ask. Having said that, though, even as an unabashed fan, I don't think that I would put him in the highest echelons of writers. I doubt the majority of people would, either. In my opinion, he wrote some great books, and some...

Wonderfully stated, Novella. You are, I think, quite right about that aspect of On the Road. But then, there is more to the novel than "driving" (even if it is the central metaphor of the book). I think that there are also plenty of human situations in the book which anyone can relate to, not...

Quite. That was even happening during Jack's day. During the mid- to late 60s, a lot of the Hippies were trying to set Jack up as a Hippie before his time, and he wanted no part of it (as you can see in Big Sur). And, if I may, one of the reasons that On the Road might be considered less...

When I was a younger man, Kerouac came as a revelation to me. On the Road was my first exposure to him and it took my breath away. The three books which I recommend to those curious about Kerouac are On the Road, Desolation Angels, and Big Sur, in that order. I think that, in addition to be...

In contrast to Audrey, I have to say that too many bookstores these days seem to be more about the comfy chairs and coffee bar than books. Definitely a drag. Especially since the coffee is usually the $2.00 a cup, burnt-tasting, Starbucks' hoity-toity kind. (And, coffee and comfy chairs are...

I'm glad to be of service, and thank you for the kind words.

Ask the Dust certainly got me to buy the rest of his books. Luckily, Black Sparrow published them about ten years ago.

Amen! Plus, my favorite version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."