Curation #53 from my Kerouac bookshelf: Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha by Jack Kerouac

Item #53 in my Kerouac bookshelf curation project is this Penguin Books 2009 3rd printing of Jack Kerouac's Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha. It's a small book: 185 pages and 4-5/8" x 6". The provenance of this copy is uncertain, and it's in good condition.

I've already opined about this book on my blog here, so further elucidation is unnecessary. I will say that I think I was too negative about it in that post, but it was 6 years ago and my knowledge and tastes have changed. Consequently, I need to re-read this book and give it another chance.

This makes 4 Buddhist-related Kerouac books in a row in my curation project:

1. The Dharma Bums
2. Some of the Dharma
3. The Scripture of the Golden Eternity
4. Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha

Did you know that Jack wrote so many Buddhist-inspired books? And that is only his books and doesn't include all the references in his journals and heaven only knows what unpublished manuscripts lurk in the Kerouac archive maintained by whoever succeeded John Sampas as literary executor (I assume Jim Sampas).

It may look as if my Kerouac collection is in some kind of logical order, but take heart because that is only partially true: randomness ensues henceforth.

P.S. I kept my word yesterday and re-read TSOTGE. Good stuff....






Below is a picture of Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf showing the placement of this book (3rd item from the left) on the day I started curating my collection. Next up: The Sea is My Brother by Jack Kerouac.

Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf