5. Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac, born Jean-Louis Kérouac, was a famous novelist and poet. Alongside the aforementioned William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg, historians deem Kerouac a pioneer of the Beat Generation. His most recognisable writing method is spontaneous prose. He covered a wide range of topics in his writings, from Catholic spirituality to travel to jazz to Buddhism, drugs, and poverty (to name a few).
In his youth, Kerouac surprisingly won scholarships for his skills as a running back in football. He earned offers from Notre Dame, Boston College, and Columbia University. He chose to attend Columbia, however, he broke his leg during his freshman season and his football career was over. He consequently dropped out of university but continued to live in New York’s Upper West Side. It was here that he met the likes of Burroughs, Ginsberg, Cassady etc.
Kerouac joined the United States Merchant Marine in 1942, and it was here that he wrote his first novel, The Sea Is My Brother. However, it was not published until 2011. He also joined the Navy in 1943 but this did not last long. A few weeks in, doctors diagnosed him with a schizoid personality and resultantly honourably discharged him on psychiatric grounds.
Kerouac actually pioneered the word ‘Beat Generation’ in 1948. He used the term to characterize the underground, anti-conformist youth movement in New York. Kerouac admits the term ‘beat’ came from fellow novelist Herbert Huncke. Huncke used the term to describe a person with few prospects and little money; a man tired or beaten down. However, Kerouac altered the meaning to include more positive connotations such as “beatific” and “upbeat”.
Kerouac completed his most famous book, On the Road, in April 1951. It was first published, however, by Viking Press in 1957. Kerouac based the story on his travels with friends across the United States. It tells the tale of their experience with jazz, poetry, and drug use. He chose to tell the story as if writing a letter to a friend. Using his favoured writing method, spontaneous prose, he believed the letter form reflected the improvisational fluidity of the jazz music dominating the era. Many publishers refused his work as they felt uncomfortable with the graphic descriptions of homosexual behaviour and drug use within it.
Sadly, Kerouac died at only forty-seven years old in October 1969. Owing to a lifetime of heavy drinking, he died from an abdominal haemorrhage. His family buried him in his hometown at Edson Cemetry in Lowell, Massachusetts.