Lonesome Traveler

Lonesome Traveler

In the Author's Introduction that appears on the first pages of this novel, Kerouac writes that "Lonesome Traveler is a collection of published and unpublished pieces connected together because they have a common theme: Traveling.” Coined for his nomadic lifestyle and road trip novels, Kerouac introduced the Beat(nik) Generation, and became a leader of the “travel novel” trope. While the title of this Kerouac novel indicates its theme, this first edition is key to further understanding the author and historical context in which he was writing. In this introduction, we learn not only about Kerouac’s travel aspirations, but also about his family, education, and upbringing, as well as his literary inspirations. He wrote his first novel at age 11, and by age 17 had decided to become a writer. While attending Columbia University on a football scholarship, he discovered the technique of "spontaneous prose" and utilized this method in his most famous novel, On The Road. He considered writing to be his "duty on Earth," and incorporated his nomadic lifestyle into his dream of writing. At the end of the introduction, the interviewer asks Kerouac to give a brief description of “the book, its scope and purpose as you see them”. His travels spread across the U.S. and to Europe and Africa, enabling Kerouac to discover the “mishmosh of life” that is out there, somewhere beyond his home town of Lowell, Massachusetts. He closes the introduction with, “Its scope and purpose is simply poetry, or, natural description”. Kerouac's autobiographical fiction created an entire literary movement, and in this text we can see eight different short stories, each paired with illustrations, complementing each other into one larger comprehensive piece. His biography and his writing are inseparable; at a young age Kerouac decided to be a writer and simultaneously discovered his love for traveling and discovering. His real life adventures allowed him to create and become an artist, as well as a voice for a generation.

Jack Kerouac

Manhattan College, Fales Collection

New York, Toronto, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company

1960

Larry Rivers

Manhattan College

Octavo, 183 pages, 8 illustrations.

Novel