Item #163 in my Kerouac bookshelf curation project is this January 13, 2010 letter from the FBI in Washington, D.C. It was in response to my having written to the FBI requesting Jack Kerouac's FBI files under the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOIPA) -- if they exist. You can see if you look carefully that they misspelled Kerouac as Kerovac in the Subject line, something I didn't follow up on but now wish I had done so. "We were unable to identify responsive main file records" was the answer to my request. If they were searching for Kerovac, of course that would be the response.
There are also "we are in receipt of your request" letters (in addition to the main HQ in D.C., I also wrote to the Boston and San Francisco and NYC field offices) in the pile (I'm not curating them since they appear below), and they have Kerouac spelled correctly. I also note that the FBI addresses me as Mr. Richard.
You can read the entire saga below:
FBI Files Part 1
FBI Files Part 2
FBI Files Part 3
FBI Files Part 4
I am hard-pressed to believe that the FBI didn't keep a file on Jack Kerouac, and now I want to write them again and make sure they use the correct name in their search. But that's a story for another day . . . .
Below is a picture of Shelf #5 (last one!) of my Kerouac bookshelf showing the placement of this item (17th from the top of the pile) on the day I started curating my collection. Next up: "Reversing Falls," a draft short story about Maine by California writer Sharon Doubiago.
 |
| Shelf #5 of my Kerouac bookshelf |
No comments:
Post a Comment