THE DAILY BEAT: November 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013

USPS rejects Jack Kerouac stamp idea

Back on July 8 I attempted to rally support for a Jack Kerouac postage stamp. Click here for my original post.

This week I heard from the U.S. Postal Service. The news is not good, although they do suggest looking into a "pictorial or souvenir cancellation." I will look into that. I have a sneaking suspicion that, at least at our little podunk post office, the response will be, "What?"

Here's the bad news letter from the USPS. I redacted my mailing address to avoid the millions of letters that would otherwise be forthcoming.

Sorry, Jack. I tried.

Reviews of The Beat Handbook

Gerald Nicosia, author of the acclaimed Kerouac biography Memory Babe, said The Beat Handbook is "full of Jack's heart."

Jared Randall, author of the excellent book of poetry, Apocryphal Road Code, said this about The Beat Handbook: "Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time. In my wandering pack of experiences, I find they often do. Enter The Beat Handbook by Rick Dale."

Kenneth Morris, Kerouacian extraordinaire, said this:
"I just finished reading Rick Dale's beautiful utterance and call to action of Kerouac mind-set and zen sensibilities. It made me laugh and reflect on my own life and road I have naturally grooved into after absorbing the Kerouac canon. The road less traveled always had my name on it. And that has made all the difference. The Beat Handbook 100 Days of Kerouactions reaffirms the attitudes and ideology that made the Beats and Kerouac the important men of ideas that America (and the world) thirsted for, needed, and swallowed whole. Beautiful, absorbing, Top Ten whipsmart from my articulate, tender-hearted friend and fellow traveler. Highly recommended."