The Immortality of Words: How Kerouac Lives On

A photograph of one of the view copies of "Poetry For The Beat Generation" recorded by Jack Kerouac and Steve Allen. Today, the album is available on popular streaming websites such as Spotify. 

This video excerpt from The Steve Allen Show in 1959 features rare footage of Jack Kerouac reading his own work aloud on live television. The duo were promoting their new album “Poetry For the Beat Generation” which features Steve Allen playing “the blues” while Kerouac reads poetry aloud. In this clip, Allen points out that “his prose are quite poetic” and the piano beautifully accompanies his words.

While Kerouac reads, his words come alive with rhythm, rendering their lyricism all the more captivating. His voice is soft and rhythmic, which each word rolling off of his tongue, beautifully accompanied by the soft jazz in the background.

In the beginning of the video, Kerouac reveals that he would define the word "Beat" as "Sympathetic." All of the stories he writes in his novels, and specifically On the Road, are based on true experiences. He writes about his adventures in life, while on a quest for some larger truth, but the only sure conclusion he can reach is that existence is ephemeral: "Nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody, besides the forlorn rags of growing old” (On the Road). Perhaps what allows for Kerouac’s “sympathy” is the unpredictability of life and inevitability of death that everybody experiences. There is a sadness to his reading voice, but also passion and truth behind the words that he writes. We are able to hear his words in a rhythmic and lyrical mode. This particular clip of Kerouac is special for several reasons.

As the description from the Historical Films Society reads, “This is the only known motion picture of beat generation writer and icon Jack Kerouac reading his own work.” It was publicly known that Kerouac struggled with alcoholism during his life, and often times appeared drunk on air. In this performance, however, what is most prominent is Kerouac’s intentness and passion behind his famous words. There is more to his stories than the words on the page-- in this form, paired with the jazzy piano vibes presented by Allen, they become almost haunting when heard today.