I never met John Dorfner but considered him a friend. We knew each other from email and Twitter and were connected by our mutual love for Jack Kerouac. I don't remember how we first discovered each other, but I suspect it was via Twitter.
I recently learned that John passed away at age 70 on February 27, 2023. Click HERE to read his obituary. We were on month 5 of an 8-month road trip around the country when he died; hence, I wasn't keeping up with Kerouac news as I usually would.
John authored three books, two about Kerouac and one a memoir of his father. We curated or reviewed them all here on The Daily Beat:
Curation of Kerouac: Visions of Rocky Mount
Review of Kerouac: Visions of Rocky Mount
Curation of Kerouac: Visions of Lowell
Review of Kerouac: Visions of Lowell
I can't seem to find my curation of Milkman's Matinee. Maybe it wasn't on my Kerouac bookshelf when I curated the lot of it. I just conducted a cursory search of my bookshelf and it doesn't appear where I would think I had it shelved (next to his 2 Kerouac books). If I have misplaced it, that makes me sad, but it is on Amazon, so . . . .
One story about John and then we'll leave it at that. One day, a copy of my favorite Kerouac book, The Dharma Bums, showed up in the mail unexpectedly (something my great friend Richard Marsh is apt to do -- i.e., send me a book out of the blue). It was a paperback with a cover I didn't yet have in my collection. It was from John. I blogged about it HERE.
As John commented on the post about The Dharma Bums, the Road never ends.
RIP, John and condolences to your family. Say hi to Jack for me . . . .
2 comments:
Your last sentence says it all, RIP, John and condolences to your family. Say hi to Jack for me . . . . " Yes. I didn't know his work, but I add my condolences and sympathy to all who knew and loved him.
He sure was a nice guy and a big fan of Kerouac.
And, like you, he actually contributed to the Kerouacmosphere.
RM
Post a Comment