A Kerouac-related birthday of note

 

David Kammerer

For those of you steeped in Beat lore, the name David Kammerer needs no explanation. For those of you new to the subject or with only passing Kerouacian knowledge, Kammerer was the man killed by Lucien Carr (stabbed to death with a Boy Scout knife) and Kerouac -- in trying to help him cover up the crime -- was arrested as an accessory after-the-fact and ended up in jail (which resulted in Jack marrying Edie Parker to get bail money from her parents when his own father, Leo, wouldn't spring him, but that is another story).

Kerouac recounted this story in several works, and Kammerer appeared in Visions of Cody as Dave Stroheim, Vanity of Duluoz as Franz (Swinburne) Mueller, The Town and the City as Waldo Meister, Ramsey Allen in And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, and Alfred in The Haunted Life (Source: Character Key to Kerouac's Duluoz Legend).

My point? Kammerer was born this date -- September 2 -- in 1911. So even though he (allegedly) stalked Carr around the country and was murdered as a result, we remember him on his birthday as playing a significant role in the Kerouac saga.

Belatedly remembering Chandler Brossard

                                             

Chandler Brossard, who some claim wrote the first Beat novel (Who Walk in Darkness, 1952), died on yesterday's date -- August 29 -- in 1993.  Brossard appeared as Chris Rivers in Jack Kerouac's and William S. Burroughs' And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks. 

I wrote about Who Walk in Darkness HERE. I was not that enamored of the book, but then Brossard was not enamored of being associated with the Beats. A whole lot of dis-enamoring going on in that last sentence! In any case, if you're interested in the Village scene in the 40s, you may enjoy Who Walk in Darkness. Brossard wrote other stuff as well. His papers are maintained by Syracuse University -- click HERE for access.

RIP, Mr. Brossard.

Happy Belated Heavenly Birthday to Gerard Kerouac, Jack's older brother

                                                     

Jack Kerouac's brother, (Francis) Gerard, was born on yesterday's date -- August 23 -- in 1916. His death at a young age was the impetus for Kerouac to write one of his best works, Visions of Gerard. Gerard appeared as Gerard Duluoz in Visions of Gerard, Doctor Sax, Visions of Cody, and Book of Dreams; and as Julian in The Town and the City.

Did you know that Gerard was a cartoonist? According to Gerald Nicosia in Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac, "Gerard . . . had been Jack's first drawing instructor" (1983, University of California Press, p. 35). 

HAPPY BELATED HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY, GERARD!

Happy Heavenly Birthday to poet Lew Welch

 

Lew Welch

Poet Lew Welch was born on today's date -- August 16 -- in 1926. He appeared in two of Jack Kerouac's works -- Desolation Angels and Big Sur -- as Dave Wain.

Welch famously drove Kerouac and another friend, Albert Saijo, cross-country in 1959, composing poetry along the way that became Trip Trap: Haiku on the Road. Kerouac mentioned this trip in a Dec. 7, 1959 letter to Lawrence Ferlinghetti:

Dear Larry--

Thanx again for getting me the cash . . . We had a great enlightening trip, Lew Welch talked all the way & showed great knowledge of American subjects (dialects, lit., folk songs, logging, football, track, girls etc.) and Albert Saijo meditated most of the way. We wrote a joint book of poems called TRIP TRAP. Albert is like my guru now. (Jack Kerouac Selected Letters 1957-1969, 1999, Penguin Books, p. 265)

Welch was an accomplished poet in is own right, and we reviewed his poetry collection, Ring of Bone, HERE. He roomed with Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen at Reed College. More on Welch can be found HERE. At the latter link you will learn the name of Welch's famous stepson as well as what well-known advertising slogan he wrote.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mr. Welch.

Remembering Bea Franco, Jack Kerouac's "The Mexican Girl"

 

Bea Franco with son, Alberto
Photo/Beatrice Kozera Estate

Today we remember Bea Franco, who died on August 15, 2013. We wished her a happy birthday in October 2021 HERE. She was represented as Terry in Jack Kerouac's 1957 classic novel, On The Road. An excerpt about Terry, titled "The Mexican Girl," was published as a stand-alone short story in Paris Review in 1955; you can read it here. Bea also appeared in Book of Dreams as Bea.

Also of note, author Tim Z. Hernandez found Bea alive in 2010 after a multi-year search and as a result wrote the award-winning novel about her life, Mañana Means Heaven, which we reviewed here at The Daily Beat (click here). We also curated the book twice (click here and here), and featured a guest blog by the author (click here). 

RIP, Ms. Franco.

Remembering David Kammerer

 

David Kammerer

Today -- August 14 -- was the anniversary of David Kammerer's death in 1944. We wrote about Kammerer on his birthday in September 2020 HERE. Kammerer appeared in Visions of Cody as Dave Stroheim, Vanity of Duluoz as Franz (Swinburne) Mueller, The Town and the City as Waldo Meister, Ramsey Allen in And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, and Alfred in The Haunted Life (Source: Character Key to Kerouac's Duluoz Legend).

Kammerer was most likely a sexual predator, and we remember him only because he figured into the early Beat Generation -- if only as a dark presence.

ChatGPT builds a Kerouac quiz

 

I asked ChatGPT3 (an AI LLM) to build a 10 question multiple choice quiz about Kerouac and below is what it produced. Do you see any problems with it? One is obvious.

Question 1: What is the full name of the author commonly associated with the Beat Generation? a) John Steinbeck b) Allen Ginsberg c) Jack Kerouac d) Ernest Hemingway

Question 2: Which of the following novels is considered one of Jack Kerouac's most famous works? a) To Kill a Mockingbird b) On the Road c) The Great Gatsby d) 1984

Question 3: In which year was "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac first published? a) 1957 b) 1969 c) 1945 d) 1961

Question 4: Jack Kerouac's writing style is often characterized as: a) Traditional and formal b) Experimental and stream-of-consciousness c) Surreal and fantastical d) Gothic and horror

Question 5: Which fellow Beat Generation writer was a close friend of Jack Kerouac and is known for his poem "Howl"? a) William S. Burroughs b) F. Scott Fitzgerald c) T.S. Eliot d) Allen Ginsberg

Question 6: What is the title of Jack Kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel about his experiences working as a fire lookout in the Cascade Mountains? a) "Naked Lunch" b) "The Sun Also Rises" c) "Desolation Angels" d) "Brave New World"

Question 7: Which road-trip route is the main focus of Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road"? a) Route 66 b) Pacific Coast Highway c) Route 101 d) US Route 50

Question 8: What is the title of the book in which Jack Kerouac chronicles his travels through Mexico? a) "Mexico Journals" b) "The Mexican Odyssey" c) "Visions of Mexico" d) "Tristessa"

Question 9: Jack Kerouac was known for his affinity for spontaneous prose and wrote a famous work in one continuous, uninterrupted draft. What is the title of this work? a) "The Catcher in the Rye" b) "Howl" c) "Naked Lunch" d) "Big Sur"

Question 10: In which city did Jack Kerouac pass away in 1969? a) Los Angeles b) San Francisco c) New York City d) Chicago