Item #65 in my Kerouac bookshelf curation project is this hardcover 2009 Chronicle Books 1st printing of You're A Genius All The Time by Jack Kerouac. It's in great shape and small as books go: 96 pages and about 6" x 5-1/4". The provenance is that I bought it from Amazon (I think).
This is a compilation of a couple of pieces Kerouac is known for and which you can read online. Hence there is no real reason to own the book other than fandom or for the foreword by Regina Weinreich or the pictures scattered throughout. The pieces are available at the following links:
Belief and Technique for Modern Prose (appeared in Evergreen Review Spring 1959)
Essentials of Spontaneous Prose (appeared in Evergreen Review Summer 1958)
Someone -- the estate, I guess -- thought it was a good idea to compile these two pieces. The reason it takes 50 pages is that the individual items are on their own pages -- with artistic fonts and flourishes -- and, as mentioned above, there are pictures of Jack throughout that likewise take up an entire page. There's a caption key for photos at the end with page numbers, yet the book doesn't have any page numbers! There may be a picture or two here you haven't seen, such as the one of Jack shoveling snow.
Given that you can read both pieces online, I can't recommend owning this book unless you are a true Kerouac fan. Or you don't do Internet. Or you just have an urge to spend some money.
Below is a picture of Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf showing the placement of this book (15th item from the left) on the day I started curating my collection. Next up: Book of Haikus by Jack Kerouac.
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Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf
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