Jack's spontaneous prose style was heavily influenced by jazz, specifically the bebop of Charlie Parker et al. His and the beats' particular writing style is sometimes called "bop prosody." Here's an interesting article on the subject: "Jazz America": Jazz and African American Culture in Jack Kerouac's On The Road".
Jack frequently sought out live music and then crafted detailed scenes in his novels, using a bebop style to describe bebop.
The Kerouaction? Support live music, especially in your local area. It's Saturday night! Find a venue and go. It doesn't have to be jazz. It could be reggae, rock, blues, bluegrass, harana, folk, Irish, aboriginal, country, world music, rap, ska, klezmer, classical, bhajan, whatever . . . .
Dig the ride!
2 comments:
I just returned home yesterday from a trip to Canada to see an Austrian punk band play in some guy's basement. I think that's definitely a Kerouaction right there...I thought nothing of driving 1,700 miles to see a band I was dying to see...apparently the border police thought it strange because we were detained about an hour going in and coming out...ugh.
Definitely a Kerouaction! Reminds me of the time I drove from northcentral Pennsylvania to Lansing, Michigan just to visit a music store, Elderly Instruments. It was worth it!
Post a Comment