“What’s your road, man? – holyboy road, madman road, rainbow road, guppy road, any road.” – Jack Kerouac

For Beat writer Jack Kerouac, author of the legendary novel “On The Road,” the journey began and ends in Lowell.

Jean-Louis “Jack” Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922, into a French-speaking family in Lowell. After his death in Florida in 1969, his funeral was held in Lowell’s St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church, and he was laid to rest nearby in Edson Cemetery.

Honoring the centennial of the writer’s birth, Kerouac@100 will present an array of public events that captures his lasting influence, legacy and Lowell roots. It all kicks off this weekend. You can view the schedule of free events HERE.

A very special part of the celebration will be “Visions of Kerouac,” a free Lowell National Historical Park exhibit that will open to the public on Friday, March 18 to showcase Kerouac artifacts – much of them from UMass Lowell’s Kerouac archive and his estate – including the original scroll on which he wrote his best-known work, “On The Road,” on loan from Indianapolis Colts owner James Irsay.

Kicking off the celebration will be “Visions of Kerouac,” a free Lowell National Historical Park exhibit that will open to the public on Friday, March 18 to showcase Kerouac artifacts – much of them from UMass Lowell’s Kerouac archive and his estate – including the original scroll on which he wrote his best-known work, “On The Road,” on loan from Indianapolis Colts owner James Irsay.

Writer and photographer John Suiter’s images, depicting Kerouac’s life in Lowell, the Cascade Mountain Range and Mexico, along with photos of Kerouac and his friends taken by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg – some of which will be publicly displayed for the first time, courtesy Ginsberg’s estate – will also figure prominently in the show.

The national park will host the exhibit daily from noon to 5 p.m. through Friday, April 15 in a gallery space inside the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, 115 John St., Lowell. Details on parking and mask requirement for patrons may be found at www.nps.gov/lowe/index.htm.

“The National Park Service is thrilled to be a partner in this exhibit and to be hosting it as part of the Kerouac@100 celebration. Part of the mission of Lowell National Historical Park is preserving and interpreting the stories and heritage of the people of Lowell. That includes Jack Kerouac and how his experiences growing up here influenced his work,” said Lowell National Historical Park Superintendent Julie Galonska.
 
A Beat generation icon for every generation
Kerouac@100 committee members hail from all corners of North America and include leaders from the city of Lowell, The Jack Kerouac Estate, the Lowell National Historical Park, UMass Lowell, Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, Porter Productions, the Lowell Office of Cultural Affairs, the Pollard Memorial Library, Lowell’s Franco-American Day Committee, and Québec Delégation of Boston.

“Taped together as a scroll so he wouldn’t have to stop, written in a two-and-a-half-week burst that in many ways would change America’s cultural landscape for years to come, one can almost feel the kinetic energy coming from Kerouac's ‘Road’ manuscript. After touring the country, Jim Irsay brings the manuscript that broke a world record when he acquired it, back to Jack’s hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. We’re so grateful that an audience will be able to see for themselves where the road to Hunter S. Thompson, Bob Dylan, The Doors, and The Grateful Dead began,” said Jim Sampas, literary executor of the Jack Kerouac Estate.

Kerouac@100 planners have other events in store throughout the year, including a youth poetry slam, concerts, lectures and the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! celebration in the fall. Streetlight banners honoring the author will adorn city thoroughfares and public spaces.

“The imagery created for the ‘Visions of Kerouac’ exhibit and Kerouac@100 events nods to the ad-lib style of Kerouac’s own sketches and writing, in modern execution – a trichotomy of superimposed silhouettes inviting the viewer to consider Kerouac’s work from many perspectives; the merge and divide of ideologies,” said Schae Koteles, the graphic designer for the “Visions of Kerouac” exhibit.
 
Rooted in Lowell
Organizers are hoping a more permanent tribute to Kerouac will also be realized: UMass Lowell English Prof. Michael Millner, who leads the university’s Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for Public Humanities, is the vice president of the new Jack Kerouac Foundation. An early goal of the foundation will be to create a Kerouac museum and performance center in Lowell, potentially in the now-closed St. Jean Baptiste Church.
 
“The city of Lowell was Kerouac’s primal scene – the culture and collection of people out of which much of his art flows. The Kerouac Center and the Kerouac Foundation are dedicated to celebrating Kerouac’s connection to the city and bringing him to the world,” Millner said.
 
Millner is especially enthusiastic about the exhibit of the original scroll of “On the Road,” which is based on Kerouac’s cross-country travels with writers Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and other friends. Kerouac typed the final version on a 120-foot-long roll of paper over three weeks in 1951, in a fever of inspiration fueled by coffee and bebop jazz. There were no paragraph breaks in the document.
 
In some ways, the return to Lowell of the scroll – which was first displayed in the city in 2007 – is the heart of the yearlong celebration, as it provides a sense of what Kerouac was intending to do artistically, attempting to capture the sense of the moment by writing in a more spontaneous way. Ginsberg referred to Kerouac’s method as “spontaneous bop prosody,” according to Millner.
 
The style signaled – and helped propel – the cultural shifts in society that lay ahead. When an edited version of the scroll was published as a book in 1957, Kerouac rocketed to fame. He was hailed as the first writer to express the Beat generation’s restless rebellion against post-World War II conformity. He later became an icon of the 1960s counterculture; his legacy is still felt today, in literature, art, fashion and music.
 
Many of Kerouac’s other works are set in a fictional version of his hometown, including “The Town and the City” and an early novella, “The Haunted Life,” which was edited and published for the first time by UMass Lowell English Department Prof. and Chair Todd Tietchen in 2014, with support from Kerouac’s estate. “Doctor Sax,” “Visions of Gerard” and “Maggie Cassidy” also draw on Kerouac’s past in Lowell.
 
Kerouac@100 is sponsored in part by the Jack Kerouac Estate, Jim Irsay Collection; Kerouac Center at UMass Lowell; Lowell National Historical Park; Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau; Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Down Right Merch; Allen Ginsberg Estate; City of Lowell; Pollard Memorial Library Foundation; Wendy Harrington Design; Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; George Duncan/Enterprise Bank; Lowell Cultural Council; Greater Lowell Health Alliance; Mahoney Oil; Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series; Spectacle Management; Heritage Farm Ice Cream; Cox Fuel; Brian Ruhlmann/Craic Sauce; Massachusetts state Sen. Edward Kennedy; Massachusetts state Rep. Tom Golden; Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau; and Lowell city councilors Rita Mercier, Dan Rourke and Corey Robinson.

About Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American novelist, poet, and icon of the Beat movement born in Lowell, Massachusetts. His most famous book, “On The Road” (1957), still has broad cultural influence. In his work, he challenged conventional form and was part of the most important literary and artistic movement of the 1950s.www.jackkerouac.com
 
About the KEROUAC@100 Committee
The Kerouac@100 Committee consists of the Jack Kerouac Estate, the Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for Public Humanities, Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, Porter Productions, Lowell Office of Cultural Affairs, the Pollard Memorial Library, Lowell’s Franco-American Day Committee, and Québec Delégation of Boston.
 
About Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell National Historical Park preserves and interprets the historic structures and stories of the Industrial Revolution and its legacies in Lowell, serving as a catalyst for revitalization of the city's physical and economic environment and promoting cultural heritage and community programming. www.nps.gov/lowe
 
About UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell is a national research university offering its students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu.

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This past weekend, Lowell and the world marked the centennial birthday of writer, Jack Kerouac, but the celebrations are just beginning.

Thanks to funding in part by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, the original ‘On The Road’ scroll which Time Magazine included as one of the best novels of the last 100 years—and a part of The Jim Irsay Collection, is headed to Lowell to be the centerpiece of the exhibit ‘Visions of Kerouac’ which will be FREE to the public thanks to this grant, UMass Lowell, Lowell National Historical Park, City of Lowell, and Massachusetts State Senator Edward Kennedy from March 18th until April 15th at the Lowell National Historical Park’s Boott Cotton Mills Gallery.
 
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the gracious support of The Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau in bringing the Jack Kerouac 'On The Road' scroll to Lowell. Jack Kerouac wrote so lovingly, over the course of several novels, about his rich experiences growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts and I'm sure he would be honored to have this amazing organization that is of such great benefit to his hometown, step up and help show visitors from around the world how special this area is. The Jack Kerouac Estate wish to extend our gratitude to Rick Lofria from the GMVCVB, and all the folks at the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Toursim for helping to make this birthday to Jack one that will be remembered for many years to come," said Jim Sampas, the Literary Executor of the Jack Kerouac Estate.
 
The “Visions of Kerouac” exhibit will also include archival books, writings, personal objects, and photographs including never-before-seen images of Jack Kerouac taken by fellow Beat Generation pioneer Allen Ginsberg. There will also be a collection of photographs by John Suiter.
 
“The Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau is honored to be partnered with the Kerouac Estate to celebrate the centennial birthday of world-renowned “Beat Generation” pioneer, novelist, writer, artist, and Lowell’s native son, Jack Kerouac,” said Rick Lofria, the Executive Director of the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Visions Of Kerouac Exhibit Info
Kerouac@100 is sponsored in part by the Jack Kerouac Estate, Jim Irsay Collection; Kerouac Center at UMass Lowell; Lowell National Historical Park; Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau; Down Right Merch; Allen Ginsberg Estate; City of Lowell; Pollard Memorial Library Foundation; Wendy Harrington Design; Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; George Duncan/Enterprise Bank; Lowell Cultural Council; Greater Lowell Health Alliance; Mahoney Oil; Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series; Spectacle Management; Heritage Farm Ice Cream; Cox Fuel; Brian Ruhlmann/Craic Sauce; Massachusetts state Sen. Edward Kennedy; Massachusetts State Representative Tom Golden; Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau; and Lowell city councilors Rita Mercier, Dan Rourke and Corey Robinson.
 
About Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American novelist, poet, and icon of the Beat movement born in Lowell, Massachusetts. His most famous book, “On The Road” (1957), still has broad cultural influence. In his work, he challenged conventional form and was part of the most important literary and artistic movement of the 1950s.
 
About the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau
No matter what the season, the Merrimack Valley has a beauty all its own. The changing seasons add to the vibrancy of the region and with these changes come unmistakable attractions – skiing, biking, fishing, canoeing, white water rafting, strawberry picking, hayrides, and concerts under the stars. There is an undeniable spirit in the Greater Merrimack Valley – the same spirit that gave birth to our country. Based in Lowell, MA The Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMVCVB) is the official destination marketing organization for the Greater Merrimack Valley. The GMVCVB is designated by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) to market the region as a premier travel destination for domestic and international travelers, group tours and bus tours, meetings, conferences, conventions, and sporting events.

About the KEROUAC@100 Committee
The Kerouac@100 Committee consists of the Jack Kerouac Estate, the Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for Public Humanities, Lowell National Historical Park, UMass Lowell, Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, Porter Productions, Lowell Office of Cultural Affairs, the Pollard Memorial Library, Lowell’s Franco-American Day Committee, Québec Delégation of Boston and the Jack Kerouac Foundation.

One hundred years after the birth of Beat pioneer Jack Kerouac, the Jack Kerouac Estate announces the formation of Sal Paradise Press and a new collaboration with Rare Bird to co-publish a new deluxe hardcover of collected works from Kerouac’s time in isolation, Desolation Peak. Authored by Jack Kerouac and edited by Charles Shuttleworth, Desolation Peak is a posthumous collection for long-time Kerouac fans and newcomers alike.

In the summer of 1956, Jack Kerouac hitchhiked from Mill Valley, CA, to the North Cascades to spend two months serving as a fire lookout for the US Forest Service. Taking only the Diamond Sutra for reading material, he intended to spend his time in deep contemplation and to achieve enlightenment. He wrote in his journal that he planned "to concentrate on emptiness of self, other selves, living beings, and universal self." In letters to friends he proclaimed, "Something will happen to me on Desolation Peak…I can feel it."

Kerouac's experience on Desolation Peak forms the climax of his novel The Dharma Bums and has also been depicted in part 1 of Desolation Angels and a chapter in his nonfiction book Lonesome Traveler. None of these versions offers a full, true picture, however; and for that reason, Desolation Peak is essential reading. What separates Kerouac from all other writers is the depth that he went in exploring his own consciousness, and what will prove his most enduring legacy is the record he left of that exploration, revealing the psyche of a sensitive, tortured artist grappling with himself in the mid-20th Century.

The highlight of Desolation Peak is the journal he kept, starkly revealing the depth of his poverty, the extremity of his mood swings, and the ongoing arguments with himself over the future direction of his life, his writing, and faith. Along with the journal, he worked on a series of projects, including “Ozone Park,” another installment of the Duluoz Legend beginning in 1943, after his discharge from the Navy; “The Martin Family,” an intended sequel to The Town and the City, and “Desolation Adventure,” a series of sketches that became Part One of Desolation Angels. In writing it, Kerouac was re-committing himself to his more experimental, then-unpublishable style, declaring in the journal that “the form of the future is no-form.”

Also included in Collected Writings is “The Diamondcutter of Perfect Knowing,” Kerouac's “transliteration” of the Diamond Sutra, his “Desolation Blues” and “Desolation Pops” poems, and assorted prose sketches and dreams.

Preorders are available now at link below and a limited quantity will be signed by Jim Sampas, Literary Executor of The Jack Kerouac Estate, and editor, Charles Shuttleworth.

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THE JACK KEROUAC FOUNDATION is offering the public a glimpse of its vision for the former Catholic church it hopes to develop into The Jack Kerouac Center, a performance venue, museum, educational center, and bookstore/café.
 
In advance of its capital fundraising phase, the foundation has posted site plans, drone-shot images, renderings by SCB Architects and other materials at jackkerouaccenter.com. The site also offers visitors a link to make donations and explains the history of the iconic, Lowell-born author and his connection to the former St. Jean Baptiste Parish, a cornerstone of the city’s French-Canadian community.
 
“We are very energized by the opportunity to work with the Jack Kerouac Foundation to create a home for the museum and performance center that expresses the importance the City of Lowell played in Jack’s life and serves as a catalyst for the city’s vibrant arts scene” said Bryan Irwin, Principal at SCB Architects. “Jack Kerouac was formed by his experiences growing up in the neighborhoods of Lowell and his relationship to the Catholic Church was both complicated and critical to understanding his work. We sought to reflect this in a design that strengthens and enhances the existing edifice and neighborhood while creating a new dialogue—a new way of seeing and interpreting this fabric.”
 
The former church, built in 1896, was where a young Kerouac served as an altar boy, as well as the site of his funeral in 1969. The church remained consecrated when it was temporarily closed in 1993 with the termination of St. Jean Baptiste Parish but became part of Nuestra Senora del Carmen Parish in 1994 to serve the area’s Latino population before being closed and deconsecrated in 2004. It remained shuttered until TMI Property Management & Development purchased it.

The Kerouac Foundation invited the public to see the building while celebrating Kerouac’s centennial in March, and has met with TMI owner Brian McGowan, as well as SCB Architects, Existing Conditions 3D Laser Scanning, Aberthaw Construction Company, and directors and developers of such centers as the Grammy Museum, the National Steinbeck Center, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Woody Guthrie Center.

"We have put many things into motion this year and feel it’s time to share our detailed vision for the Jack Kerouac Center as we delve into the major fundraising it will take to make it a reality,” said Sylvia Cunha, Executive Director of the Jack Kerouac Foundation. “Once the world of Kerouac fans and the local community see what we’d like to do, we can move down the road to creating a hometown destination for visitors from far and wide.”
 
“While there are monuments honoring Kerouac in Lowell and other places, “says Jim Sampas, literary executor of the Jack Kerouac Estate, “there is no museum or performance center offering popular access to artistic performances and a wide range of archival materials touching on his life, work, and history as a product of Lowell. Visitors from around the world who come to re-trace his steps here deserve a place where they can see and experience how he was shaped, what he produced, and how he has influenced artists everywhere. What better place than the building where his funeral Mass was conducted and where he served for a time as an altar boy?”

The Jack Kerouac Foundation hopes the center not only serves as a welcoming hub for Kerouac pilgrims, but as a connective thread to the community, where artists of all stripes can perform and exhibit, and young writers of all ages from area schools can learn and share their craft.

The insights and quotes assembled in this book have been woven into a patchwork of reoccurring themes found throughout Kerouac’s writings, such as adventure, life, self-reflection, and spirituality are heavily featured, but more niche quotes around topics like cats, coffee, music, and sports can also be found. This collection pulls from his novels as well as some of his selected short stories, poems, letters, and journals. We worked with Jack’s various publishers - Penguin Random House, City Lights Books, Da Capo Press/ Hachette Book Group, Grove Press, and Library of America on this very special collection.

Whether you’re new to Kerouac, searching for inspiration in his words, or are a self-proclaimed “mad one” looking to make sense of it all, this quote book will undoubtedly serve as a go-to reference for the discerning Kerouac reader. Our hope is that it inspires you to go on an adventure and find the quotes within the books they are taken from.

A portion of the proceeds goes to the Jack Kerouac Foundation to help establish the Jack Kerouac Museum, Performance, and Education Center in the magnificent former St Jean Baptiste church. It is where Jack served as an altar boy and also the site of his funeral mass in 1969. The proposed center is dedicated to furthering his legacy by showcasing the cultural impact he's had throughout the world. Our aim is to offer exhibits, performances, educational programs, and lectures, and serve as an anchor to the revitalization of the Acre section of Lowell, Massachusetts.

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