Item #79 in my Kerouac bookshelf curation project is this hardcover 1985 William Morrow and Company first edition first printing of Fred W. McDarrah's Kerouac & Friends: A Beat Generation Album. 338 pages and about 6-1/4" x 9-1/2", this copy is in very good condition. I don't recall the provenance.
This book comprises 29 written pieces by Beat Generation writers, critics, journalists, and historians along with many pictures (more than 190) from the era (McDarrah was the picture editor for The Village Voice for many years and hung out with the Beats). As McDarrah says in the preface:
Kerouac and Friends is more than a collection of photos and articles from the 1950s; it's a living memoir of the wonderful carefree days when I had nothing to do except go to poetry readings, the Artist's Club, the Living Theatre,, and the Cedar Street Tavern. I stayed out all night with friends and with Gloria. This book is about me and Gloria and a specific time in our lives in New York's Greenwich Village.The book also contains a section of biographical section, a bibliography, and an index. I must admit that I have not read this book straight through. It's more of the kind of book you pick up from time to time and read an article or two and enjoy the pictures. There's a lot here to digest, including a picture of Allen Ginsberg's kitchen sink from his flat at 170 East 2nd Street. So you can't say it includes "everything but the kitchen sink."
If you've never seen this book, I suspect there are a few pictures in it you haven't seen before -- making it a worthwhile addition to your Kerouac bookshelf.
Below is a picture of Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf showing the placement of this book (29th item from the left -- last book on the right) on the day I started curating my collection. Next up: The Beats Abroad: A Global Guide to the Beat Generation by Bill Morgan.
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Shelf #2 of my Kerouac bookshelf
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