Description
Jack Kerouac was the avatar of the Beat generation writers, and his novel On the Road (1957) has inspired countless road trips. He developed a theory of literary style called "spontaneous prose" based on the stream-of-consciousness of the jazz solo and called himself a "jazz poet." He was equally influenced by Buddhism, advising artists to allow their ideas and images to flow freely under the motto, "first thought, best thought." In a 1950 letter to his muse, Neal Cassady, Kerouac wrote of his obsession with the new word cool: he contrasted the "cool mind" of jazz musicians (relaxed and detached) to the "raw mind" of the Beat writers (exuberant, primitive). In effect, Kerouac re-booted an American romanticism first launched by Emerson and Whitman, emphasizing personal experience over education and expertise. His works directly influenced the counterculture of the 1960s, a decade in which he descended into alcoholism and an early death. In this photograph, Kerouac tries to tune in to a hip signal just beyond his reach.
Image
Gelatin Silver Print
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution