Had he made it another 37 years, Sunday the 12th would have been writer, drunk, and occasional Denver resident Jack Kerouac 84th birthday. Now, I don't pretend to be a scholar of his works, or even the most avid fan. Hell, I only ever finished "On the Road", a few assorted "pomes", and parts of "The Subterraneans" (an attempt at "Desolation Angels" nearly put me into a coma). But a blog devoted to all things coffee, especially to those things intangible and, dare I say -transcendent- would be remiss to not mention the "King of the Beatniks", even though the man himself shunned the title. (I use "beatnik" over the preferred and pretentious "beat" precisely because it makes his silly Naropa progeny get all huffy and spout off all manner of angry and monumentally dull poetry... and that makes me laugh)
Beyond his association with a counter culture that he rejected later in life, I think it's only fitting that I pay tribute to him here. His "Stream of Consciousness" writing style -of which Truman Capote said "That's not writing, it's typing"- qualifies him, I believe, as the Original Blogger.
Happy Birthday, JK/Sal Paradise/et al, if there's an afterlife, I hope you're getting some "kicks" there.
7 comments:
This makes me think of a beat pome that I oft' have running through my head.
"Harriet. Harry-ette. Hard-hearted harbinger of haggis. Beautiful, bemused, bellicose butcher. Un-trust... ing. Un-know... ing. Un-love... ed? "He wants you back," he screamed into the night air like a firefighter going to a window that has no fire... except the passion of his heart. I am lonely. It's really hard. This poem... sucks. "
I LOVE IT THE OB original blooger.. i wish I need to make a t-shirt that says this " I was blogging before it was really cool" which isn't true but cest la morte
nice
awww Amber. a woman after mine own heart!
and Caff - i really enjoyed the Kerouac Cruise Ride last spring! We should do it again, but possibly in smaller numbers!
(although i did enjoy the large ones as well!)
Cas (Wo-man!)
yeah, it's nice to know somebody besides me had a good time. We started out w/ big numbers, then dwindled pretty quickly. I'd love to do another ride!
Ever go w/ these guys? I did once, but it was like "two blocks, stop for beer... one block, stop for more beer" which is okay, but I try to convince myself I'm getting some health benefits out of the ride
(i.e. I prefer to stop just once or twice before the end-of-the-night windup.)
drat! That "these guys" should have linked to www.denvercruisers.com
stupid weak html skills!
write more (kick me off the computer if need be)
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