THE DAILY BEAT: 6th sentence of the 6th book

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

6th sentence of the 6th book

The 6th book on my Kerouac bookshelf is Jack Kerouac's best book, The Dharma Bums (Penguin Books, 1976), and the 6th sentence (in honor of today being the 6th day of the month) is:

Both the little bum and I, after unsuccessful attempts to huddle on the cold steel in wraparounds, got up and paced back and forth and jumped and flapped arms at each our end of the gon. (p. 4)

FYI, "gon" is short for gondola, the type of train car they were riding. I have always puzzled over the phrase "at each our end of the gon." That seems awkwardly constructed to me, even allowing for Jack's unconventional prose.

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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."