“Florida? Jack Kerouac lived in Florida?”
For less than one year Kerouac crashed with his mother in Orlando, where he, in an “intense stretch not all that different from the one in which he composed On the Road, […] wrote The Dharma Bums.”
“Florida? Jack Kerouac lived in Florida?”
For less than one year Kerouac crashed with his mother in Orlando, where he, in an “intense stretch not all that different from the one in which he composed On the Road, […] wrote The Dharma Bums.”
3 responses
Yes he did. The place is now called The Kerouac House and is a retreat for writers, thanks to Bob Kealing.
Plus, he died from chronic alcoholism in St. Petersburg. I suppose this is as good of a place as any to be a terminal drunk, eh?
Thanks for the nice shout out. Here are some facts about Kerouac in Florida:
1)He made his final edits to On the Road in Orlando in ’56-57.
2)He wrote the Dharma Bums in Orlando Nov-Dec 1957.
3)He spent his last prolific period in Orlando.
4)He wrote dozens of letters, poems and other books in Florida:
Vanity of Dulouz, Big Sur(Orlando 1961), Pic, Sartori in Paris, Orlando Blues etc
5)His sister Caroline and nephew Paul lived in Orlando. His sister is buried here.
6)His ghost is said to inhabit Haslam’s Books in Saint Pete.
7)The Kerouac Project of Orlando owns his historic home, operates a writers retreat and since 1999 has hosted aspiring writers from all over the world.
8)The home has been featured in the New York Times, LA Times, USA Today, London Independent etc.
Vive Ti Jean
Cheers,
Bob
Click here to subscribe today and leave your comment, or log in if you’re already a paid subscriber.