Day 64 Kerouaction: On Eating When Broke

The above passage from On The Road inspired Day 64 in The Beat Handbook, titled, "On Eating When Broke." If you can't sweet-talk a bakery worker out of some bread and coffee cakes, check the garbage cans inside or the dumpster out back. If you want to go go go, you can't let money be an issue. Between scrounging for food and hitchhiking, you're "all set" (as they say in Maine) for a road trip.

For practice, go dumpster diving for your next meal. It's good for your immune system and will help get you in shape for surviving on the road with no money for food.

What I'm reading at Kerouac's grave this year

As faithful readers know, this coming weekend is Lowell Celebrates Kerouac. As per my eccentric pattern, I will again be reading from a Jack Kerouac work at his grave, hoisting a bottle of 16-year-old single malt Bushmills, leaving a copy of The Beat Handbook on the grave, and depending on Crystal's great photography skills for videoing the whole affair for posting on YouTube (maybe we can get her to read as well, and I will clumsily try to video that as well).

Here are video links to our past pilgrimages:

Rick reading from The Dharma Bums during LCK 2008
Rick reading from Doctor Sax during LCK 2009
Crystal reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Pictures of the Gone World: 11" during LCK 2009

What shall I read this year? Well, Jack wrote Big Sur in October 1961, 50 years ago this month (click here for source). That fact, combined with my fondness for the novel, means I will be reading from my tattered copy of Big Sur. Now, what passage? I have a couple of ideas. If you time it just right, you can catch us there during filming. Chances are it will early Friday afternoon on the way into town.

Zombies, pirates, ninjas

Beat article in October 2011 Vogue

In an effort to serve our readers, I spent 20 minutes in Barnes & Noble trying to confirm that the October Vogue indeed includes an article about the beat generation. After thumbing through countless ads to find the table of contents, I then had to thumb through dozens of additional un-numbered pages (of more ads) to find the article. Then I had to pay $10.99 for the magazine!

In order to fly somewhat under the sue-happy Vogue radar, I won't post images of the article in this post, assuming that their bots will be scouring the Internet looking for copyright infringement. Maybe I won't post pics at all. If I do, I sure won't put the word Vogue in the title or body of the post.

By the way, save yourself $10.99. It's not worth it.

Lowell Celebrates Kerouac 2011: This weekend!

Are your plans in place for attending the once-a-year Lowell Celebrates Kerouac festival? Here's a link to details.

There's a bonus this year. If you come up to me and whisper, "Rumplestiltskin," I'll give you a copy of my book. Signed, of course.

Article by Kerouac's agent

Check out this article in The American Scholar written by Sterling Lord, Jack Kerouac's long-time agent. It's adapted from his upcoming book, Lord of Publishing, and discusses Jack's and Ken Kesey's only face-to-face meeting.

Day 63 Kerouaction: On Sleeping

Based on the above passage from On The Road, Day 63 in The Beat Handbook is titled, "On Sleep." In it, I advise getting lots of sleep, wherever you are and whatever you are doing (unless driving a car or operating heavy machinery, of course). Tired at work? Take a nap. Maybe you'll get fired, which would give you lots of time to hitchhike cross-country with a canvas rucksack full of salami sandwiches. Go go go!