On the Road is Over the Hill and On Display

Jack Kerouac. “Face of the Buddha.” Pencil on paper, 1956(?). NYPL, Berg Collection.

Jack Kerouac. “Stella by Jack.” Pencil on paper, 1966(?). NYPL, Berg Collection.

To help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of On the Road, the NYPL has put together a great exhibit titled Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac on the Road. The exhibit explores the work and life of the Beat writer and showcases "the three extant typescript drafts of the novel, including the famous scroll, on loan from James S. Irsay and selections from the Library's Jack Kerouac Archive." You can see unplublished manuscripts, diaries, journals, letters, drawings and Kerouac's detailed fantasy baseball and fantasy horse-racing materials (who knew?!). Also on display are unpublished photographs of him and his family and items from the Library's William S. Burroughs Archive.

See Kerouac read from On the Road on the Steve Allen Show here, and hanging out at Harmony Bar here. The exhibit is opening today and running through March 16th at the New York Public Library Humanities and Social Sciences Library. More images from the exhibit after the jump...

Jack Kerouac. “Self-Portrait as a Boy.” Oil, crayon, charcoal, pencil, and ink on paper, ca. 1960. NYPL, Berg Collection.

Jack Kerouac. Dharma (A) 1953. Manuscript notebook, [December] 1953. NYPL, Berg Collection, Jack Kerouac Archive.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on November 9, 2007 3:01 PM

Comments [rss]

slappy

Poor Jack. Leave im alone.

He dropped out before Leary even knew what acid was.

He's the saint who finally unseated the boring cowboy as an icon of american freedom. Its there in his writing. Take a look. Beat mean be-atitude - get some attitude that ain't so self centered and we will all be on our way to nirvana.

babyhitler

I don't get it. On the road is basically a diary about a man who abandoned his wife and kid to hell to go party in bars around america and have sex with prostitutes and use drugs and travel with poor colored people whom they detest. and hipsters love it.