Upcoming at auction at Sotheby’s “Important Modern Literature from the Library of an American filmmaker” (one is tempted to ask who, of course), scheduled for next Friday, December the 8th.
“This collection features an impressive assemblage of Jack Kerouac materials”, the auction house notes, “including signed letters, inscribed copies of his novels, and, most notably, the original typescript scroll manuscript of The Dharma Bums“. For a full viewing of the Kerouac items see here
items such as this curious collaboratively-inscribed copy of Jack’s first novel, The Town and the City (from Jack and Allen to friend and fellow Columbia graduate, John Kingsland):
For more on this item – see here
or.. this (autograph letter from Jack to Allen) – “There was much drinking and much charming madness..”:
More on the auction (and the background to the auction) from Dave Olson’s Creative Life Archive – here
Beat Scene, the essential Beat journal, (and a long-time labor of love by editor, Kevin Ring), has a brand-new issue just out. The cover (see above) shows an arresting portrait of Jack by artist Jonathan Collins
Here’s a recent painting by Collins of Gary Snyder:
and here’s his watercolor rendition of Gregory Corso:
and, not forgetting, this (unfinished) portrait of Allen:
Elsewhere:
Simon Warner’s Rock and The Beat Generation continues to function as an an essential resource. This week there’s an informative and lucid review of Harry Smith (including several personal anecdotes) by our good friend, Steven Taylor
Don’t miss also, on the same forum, Antonio Pineda’s memories of San Francisco Beat days (Beat daze?) memories of Michael McClure and more
and, in preparation for next week’s in-person Harry celebration at the Whitney, Raymond Foye‘s riveting interview with Smith’s biographer, John Szwed in the Gagosian Quarterly is
a must-read. More on “My Harry” next week.
Thanks for including my round up at my “creative life archive” – Dharma Bums is a really special book for me as it begins in the “Beat journey to Japan” of which now I am sort of an accidental inheritor of the tradition. And connects Cascadia to Bay Area too with mountains, rain, coast lines, freighters. Zen indeed!
While “On the Road” starts in the east looking – somewhat romantically and naively – at the ‘west’, Dharma Bums starts on the left coast and looks to the ‘far, far west’ (to paraphrase Sensei Gary Snyder).
Two other notes:
* If you’re curious about the “six Poets at six gallery” reading fictionalized in DB, I made a full background your video full of artifacts, a samurai, rabbit holes and roots and branches: https://daveostory.com/film-vids-docs/social-culture/meet-the-beats/
* And, for heaven sakes, please please please do not a bid on the postcard” (it’s mine!)