I find much of Thoreau's writings a statement of decay: physical and spiritual. Even with a dead horse, Thoreau finds solace though he must cover his nose with a handkerchief. Let the vultures dig … [Read more...]
The Sons of Anak: Henry David Thoreau and John Brown
The Sons of Anak Concord, Massachusetts – Fall 1859 “It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.” — Journal, October 4, 1859 On September 5, 1859, Concord was … [Read more...]
Jack Kerouac’s Creative Birth
Excerpted from manuscript titled I Live In Two Worlds: The Literary Cosmos of Jack Kerouac to be published by Rowman & Littlefield in late 2017 We first read a hand-written time-wheel … [Read more...]
Prelude to Big Sur: Kerouac in Spring & Summer 1960
It is sunny, no humidity in the late spring of 1960. A brisk breeze blows in Northport, Long Island where Jack Kerouac has made his home with his mother for two years now. He sits in his yard … [Read more...]
This is IT: Van Gogh and Kerouac
"Dat is Het." In Vincent van Gogh’s Dutch tongue, he extolled this triumphant realization, “Dat is Het!” It lay the foundation for a rich flood of work. He was twenty-four years old. The years … [Read more...]
The Road Toward Visions of Cody
In March 2015, Jack Kerouac's masterpiece, Visions of Cody, will be reprinted by Library of America (along with Visions of Gerard and Big Sur). Edited by Todd Tietchen, the novel has been extensively … [Read more...]
Jack Kerouac’s “Strange Cemetery in Jamaica”
--- from a work-in-progress, I, Duluoz!: An Appreciation of Jack Kerouac If I had to pick my favorite poem of Jack Kerouacʼs, it would be “Strange Cemetery in Jamaica” published in Some of the … [Read more...]
An interview on Jack Kerouac and Library of America
March 2015 will mark the occasion of the publication of the third volume of Jack Kerouac works published by Library of America. I took this occasion to catch up with editor, Todd Tietchen, assistant … [Read more...]
The Great Consciousness of Life
Reaching in, pulling out. The great divide is conquered; and there lies an ever-evolving mission to extract meaning from chaos. This, then, is where it resides, the theater of the soul and the … [Read more...]
Paul Maher Jr. considers Kerouac’s Haunted Life
The Haunted Life and Other Writings / Da Capo Press / March 11, 2014 / 208 pp. Seventy years ago, in May 1944, Jack Kerouac toiled over a novella-length work set in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was … [Read more...]
Interview – Paul Maher Jr., author of Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road
Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's On the Road is an accurate, up-to-date, meticulously researched account of how Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel, On the Road came to be … [Read more...]
Empty Phantoms: Interviews and Encounters with Jack Kerouac is reissued
In 2005, Thunder's Mouth Press published my collection of interviews with Jack Kerouac. It was titled Empty Phantoms: Interviews and Encounters with Jack Kerouac. Not long afterwards, the famed … [Read more...]
from a novel-in-progress . . . .
i We backtracked from the northern path after losin’ our way, me n’ my brother, to Tempest County. We’d been on n' indian trail for three days, movin’ by night, restin’ in orchards n’ groves n’ … [Read more...]
Terrence Malick, Badlands and Caril Fugate: An Interview
Photos courtesy of Jeff McArthur (All Rights Reserved) Jeff McArthur is the author of Pro Bono: The 18-Year Defense of Caril Fugate. Mr. McArthur’s grandfather, John C. McArthur, defended Caril … [Read more...]
Kerouac and An American Marriage
an excerpt from a work-in-progress) In January 1945, Jack Kerouac set out to write his Great American Novel. His newly-drafted notes embraced the activities of the last four years and scaffolded … [Read more...]
Are There Any Good Unpublished Kerouac Books Left?
With the glut of books that thankfully made our way in the past 20 years or so, we now have (probably) just as many posthumous titles as those Kerouac published in his lifetime. These have added … [Read more...]