312:(1978), attributed Rexroth's "damning, terrible" review and his condemnation of the Beat phenomenon to Rexroth feeling vulnerable as a result of the perception that "he had now 'shown his true colors' by backing a group of unholy, barbarian, no-account, no-good people – Beatnik, unwashed, dirty, badmen of letters who didn't have anything on the ball. So he may have felt vulnerable that he originally had been so friendly, literarily, and had backed us up."
221:, the choruses were defined only by the size of Kerouac's notebook page. The poem incorporates multiple textual sources, including direct quotations; three of the choruses (52, 53 and 54) are transcriptions of conversations Kerouac had with Garver, while others variously include onomatopoeia and scenic transcriptions of sounds. The choruses often include references to real figures including Burroughs and
301:. Rexroth mainly criticized Kerouac's perceived misunderstanding of Buddhism, referring to his portrayal of Buddha as "a dime-store incense burner", and sardonically concluded that he "always wondered what ever happened to those wax work figures in the old rubber-neck dives in Chinatown. Now we know; one of them at least writes books." Ginsberg, in observations recorded in
424:"there is no satisfactory putting aside of the death wish by contemplating the 'miles to go before I sleep.'" Hipkiss describes the poem as "an expression of the creative impulse very much for its own sake—a refusal of rules of creation and a celebration, in the act, of the spontaneity inherent in creativity."
315:
In his monograph on the poem, literary critic James T. Jones describes
Rexroth's review as "a model of unethical behavior in print" which, as his standard of a defamatory piece, "consigned one of Kerouac's richest works to temporary obscurity"; he additionally argued that it may have been written in
376:
there is something valuable and beguiling behind the poetry which is as curiously difficult to get at as if the book were translated from another tongue ... But what seems to me to emerge at the end is a voice of remarkable kindness and gentleness, an engaging and modest good humor and a quite
394:
definitive documentation of
Kerouac's attempt to achieve both psychic and literary equilibrium. He endeavored to express in a complex, ritualized song as many symbols of his personal conflicts as he could effectively control by uniting them with traditional literary techniques. In this sense,
420:", and interprets the chorus, which reads "How do I know that I'm dead / Because I'm alive / And I got work to do ...", as referring to obligations which give purpose to the narrator's life, but which are "painful and not satisfying". Unlike in Frost's poem, in
399:
is the most important book
Kerouac ever wrote, and it sheds light on all his novels by providing a compendium of the issues that most concerned him as a writer, as well as a model for the transformation of conflict into an antiphonal
326:, which described the poem as "a series of improvisations, notes, a shorthand of perceptions and memories, having in large part the same word-play and rhythmic invention to be found in prose." The poet
348:, declaring that "the proper way to read this book ... is straight through at one sitting." Hecht argued that Kerouac's professed aspiration to be a "jazz poet", amplified by his publishers, was an
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as probably containing
Kerouac's best poetry, and praises the 235th Chorus in particular. Hipkiss compares the 235th Chorus to
352:, and that the book was in fact greater if understood as something much more "literary", resembling or drawing on the work of
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faith, emotional states, and disappointment with his own creativity—including his failure to publish a novel between 1950's
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tour, they visited
Kerouac's grave where Ginsberg recited stanzas from
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as "the greatest piece of religious poetry I've ever seen." The poet
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458:(1978). Ginsberg later said that Dylan was already familiar with
712:(Winter 1959–1960). "The Anguish of the Spirit and the Letter".
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452:. Footage of the two men at the grave was featured in the film
839:"Bob Dylan, the Beat Generation, and Allen Ginsberg's America"
521:
Desolate Angel: Jack
Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America
201:
Kerouac began writing the stanzas, or "choruses", that became
116:
865:, taught by Allen Ginsberg at Naropa University in July 1988
225:, as well as religious figures and themes. After finishing
274:; it was eventually published by Grove in November 1959.
229:, while still in Mexico City, Kerouac additionally wrote
789:. Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas. p. 81.
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213:. Largely written under the influence of
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147:The Scripture of the Golden Eternity
330:, a friend of Kerouac's, described
494:Southern Illinois University Press
14:
462:, having read it while living in
492:(Revised ed.). Carbondale:
169:, composed of 242 "choruses" or
377:genuine spiritual simplicity...
1243:Jack Kerouac Reads On the Road
1205:Poetry for the Beat Generation
440:visited Kerouac's hometown of
209:with Bill Garver, a friend of
187:and the more widely acclaimed
1:
1531:American poetry collections
1235:Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness
1228:The Jack Kerouac Collection
785:Hipkiss, Robert A. (1976).
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266:tried to sell the book to
1393:One Fast Move or I'm Gone
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629:; Lee, Lawrence (1999) .
482:Jones, James T. (2010) .
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1186:Good Blonde & Others
517:McNally, Dennis (1979).
372:. Hecht concluded that:
1344:Moody Street Irregulars
358:William Carlos Williams
291:, a review by the poet
197:Writing and publication
1541:Culture in Mexico City
1526:Poetry by Jack Kerouac
1411:Jan Kerouac (daughter)
489:: Jack Kerouac as Poet
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1500:Kerouac, Then and Now
945:The Town and the City
925:The Sea Is My Brother
607:"Discordant and Cool"
605:(November 29, 1959).
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442:Lowell, Massachusetts
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1301:Love Always, Carolyn
938:William S. Burroughs
386:Jones has described
287:Upon publication of
272:New Directions Press
211:William S. Burroughs
1489:Jack Kerouac School
837:(August 15, 2010).
464:St. Paul, Minnesota
305:and Lawrence Lee's
262:, Kerouac's friend
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1494:Jack Kerouac Alley
1325:Kill Your Darlings
1124:Old Angel Midnight
612:The New York Times
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278:Critical reception
20:Mexico City Blues
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936:(1945/2008; with
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438:Allen Ginsberg
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155:
145:
132:
41:Jack Kerouac
1461:Gary Snyder
1441:Lucien Carr
1347:(1978–1992)
1309:On The Road
1170:Other books
953:On the Road
466:, in 1959.
370:James Joyce
328:Gary Snyder
310:Jack's Book
268:Grove Press
241:On the Road
207:Mexico City
190:On the Road
71:Grove Press
51:Roy Kuhlman
1536:1959 poems
1520:Categories
1285:Heart Beat
977:Doctor Sax
796:0700601511
773:Jones 2010
722:(4): 601.
661:Jones 2010
644:086241928X
540:0394500113
529:. p.
470:References
354:Ezra Pound
244:, he sent
1456:Alene Lee
1001:Tristessa
861:Class on
635:Rebel Inc
485:A Map of
434:Bob Dylan
400:language.
350:imposture
338:reviewed
232:Tristessa
163:long poem
108:paperback
67:Publisher
1336:Writings
219:morphine
215:cannabis
193:(1957).
179:Buddhist
123:20993609
104:hardback
57:Language
1482:Beatnik
1317:Big Sur
1254:Related
1025:Big Sur
917:Fiction
736:3848843
171:stanzas
102:Print (
61:English
1404:People
1396:(2009)
1377:(2007)
1371:(2002)
1363:(1990)
1355:(1987)
1328:(2013)
1320:(2013)
1312:(2012)
1304:(2011)
1296:(2010)
1288:(1980)
1280:(1960)
1272:(1959)
1246:(1999)
1238:(1997)
1230:(1990)
1224:(1960)
1216:(1960)
1208:(1959)
1189:(1993)
1181:(1991)
1162:(2005)
1143:(2006)
1135:(2003)
1127:(1973)
1119:(1971)
1111:(1960)
1103:(1959)
1084:Poetry
1076:(2002)
1068:(1971)
1060:(1968)
1052:(1966)
1044:(1965)
1036:(1963)
1028:(1962)
1020:(1960)
1012:(1960)
1004:(1960)
996:(1960)
988:(1959)
980:(1959)
972:(1958)
964:(1958)
956:(1957)
948:(1950)
928:(1942)
793:
734:
686:: 195.
683:Poetry
641:
537:
500:
323:Poetry
149:
136:
37:Author
1470:Other
1385:Audio
1261:Films
1197:Audio
1151:Plays
732:JSTOR
432:When
161:is a
1293:Howl
791:ISBN
639:ISBN
535:ISBN
498:ISBN
436:and
416:'s "
368:and
270:and
217:and
117:OCLC
106:and
83:1959
16:Book
1065:Pic
724:doi
531:195
390:as
342:in
248:to
165:by
1522::
841:.
730:.
720:12
718:.
680:.
653:^
637:.
609:.
533:.
364:,
360:,
356:,
235:.
940:)
893:e
886:t
879:v
847:.
799:.
738:.
726::
647:.
615:.
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506:.
110:)
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