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Jack Kerouac Facts

Jack Kerouac Facts
Jack Kerouac was a novelist and poet known best for his spontaneous prose method. He was born Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac on March 12th, 1922 to Leo-Alcide Kerouac and Gabrielle-Ange Levesque. Jack was born in Lowell, Massachusetts while his parents were both originally from Quebec, Canada. Jack's older brother died when he was only 9, and Jack's family dealt with the grief through church and their faith. This shone through in Jack's later writing. The Great Depression sent his family into poverty, and Jack focused on sports to pay his way to college. An injury cut his college education short and after a brief military career he began writing. His first novel was published in 1950 and his career as a writer began.
Interesting Jack Kerouac Facts:
Jack Kerouac spent only 10 days in the military before being discharged for medical reasons.
After his army discharge Jack returned to New York where he became friends with other writers including Allen Ginsberg, a poet, and William S. Burroughs, a novelist.
The friends Jack made when he returned to New York would become part of the Beat generation that made Jack Kerouac famous.
Jack Kerouac's first novel was Town and City. It was a book about small ton values and city life. It was published in 1950.
Jack Kerouac and his friend Neal Cassady made several cross-country trips by car in the late 1940s. These trips inspired Jack's next novel On the Road, which was published in 1957.
On the Road was a book about his wild adventures while traveling across the country. Jack wrote the novel in one single sheet of paper that was 120 feet long. He wrote the manuscript in three weeks.
Jack called his style of writing 'spontaneous prose'.
The New York Times reviewed Jack's novel On the Road and praised its importance to the Beat Generation.
Jack Kerouac's then girlfriend Joyce Johnson commented on Jack's instant fame from the book On the Road. She said, "Jack went to bed obscure and woke up famous."
Jack Kerouac's next book was The Dharma Bums, published in 1958. It was followed by The Subterraneans the same year.
Jack Kerouac had three novels published in 1959 including Dr. Sax, Mexico City Blues, and Maggie Cassidy.
In 1944 Jack Kerouac married Edie Parker. The marriage lasted only a few months, possibly due to Jack's issues with alcohol and drugs.
In 1950 Jack Kerouac married again. His new wife Joan Haverty gave birth to their only daughter Jan Kerouac in 1950. Their marriage ended in less than a year.
Jack Kerouac married Stella Sampas in 1966.
Jack Kerouac had an abdominal hemorrhage On October 21st, 1969 in St. Petersburg, Florida and died. He was 47.
Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road has appeared on most lists of America's 100 greatest novels.
Jack Kerouac's poetry was free-flowing and included jazz elements, rhythm, and repetition.
Jack Kerouac received an honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2007.
Jack Kerouac's career included audio LPs, letters, journals, non-fiction, poetry, and fiction novels.


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