JACK KEROUAC

Author & Poet

My Literary inspiration is the works of Jack Kerouac, one of the initiators of the Beat Generation (before most of our times).

Kerouac is credited with coining the term “Beat”, though he had heard the term used by street people, in the sense of worn down (by life).  He later interpreted the term also in the sense of the beat of Jazz music, and also in the sense of holiness, as the “beat-” of beatific, the Beatitudes, etc.  Finally, he was to express the meaning of Beat as – Sympathetic.  It is interesting to reflect upon how the idea of sympathy relates to the concepts of being down-and-out, the beat of rhythm, and the state of being holy.

For an introduction to Kerouac, you should of course read “On the Road”, and if you want to continue, follow up with “Lonesome Traveler”, “The Subterraneans” and “Tristessa” (all short and easy reading). Other works like “Visions of Cody” are pretty hard-core, and tough reading, but rewarding.A good site to find out more about Jack Kerouac is –

http://www.jackkerouac.com/