Jean-Louis "Jack" Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary
iconoclast and, alongside
William S. Burroughs and
Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the
Beat Generation.
Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as
Catholic spirituality,
jazz,
promiscuity,
Buddhism, drugs, poverty, and travel. His writings have inspired other writers, including
Ken Kesey,
Bob Dylan,
Eddie Vedder,
Richard Brautigan,
Thomas Pynchon,
Lester Bangs,
Tom Robbins,
Will Clarke,
Ben Gibbard,
Haruki Murakami. Kerouac became an underground celebrity and, with other beats, a progenitor of the
hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements.
In 1969, at age 47, Kerouac died from internal bleeding due to long-standing
abuse of alcohol. Since his death Kerouac's literary prestige has grown and several previously unseen works have been published. All of his books are in print today, among them:
On the Road,
Doctor Sax,
The Dharma Bums,
Mexico City Blues,
The Subterraneans,
Desolation Angels,
Visions of Cody and
Big Sur.