Soon after, the New York Times ran a review lauding Kerouac as the voice of a new generation. In July 1957, Kerouac moved to Orlando, Florida, while awaiting the release of On the Road later that year. During that time, Kerouac completed ten other autobiographical novels, including The Subterraneans (Grove Press, 1958) Doctor Sax (Grove Press, 1959) Tristessa (Avon, 1960) and Desolation Angels (Coward McCann, 1965).

Burroughs, and in 1949 he began his most famous literary work, On the Road (Viking Press, 1957), which was tentatively titled “The Beat Generation” and “Gone on the Road.” Kerouac finished the largely autobiographical novel in April 1951, though it remained unpublished until 1957. Through Carr, Kerouac had met many of the literary figures now associated with the Beat Generation, including Allen Ginsberg and William S. Upon Kerouac’s return to New York, he lived with his parents in Queens, where he wrote his first novel, The Town and the City (Harcourt Brace, 1950). Their marriage was quickly annulled due to infidelity, and Kerouac returned to New York City in 1944.

Unable to convince his father to pay for bail, Kerouac agreed to marry fellow writer Edie Parker in exchange for her financial support and moved to Detroit, Michigan. Soon after, Kerouac was involved in the murder of David Kammerer, having helped his friend Lucien Carr dispose of evidence, and was arrested as a material witness. In 1942, Kerouac joined the United States Merchant Marine, and a year later joined the United States Navy-he served only eight days of active duty before being honorably discharged on psychiatric grounds. He was awarded athletic scholarships to attend Boston College, University of Notre Dame, and Columbia University, though an injury during his freshman season at Columbia kept him from playing and eventually led to his dropping out of school. Kerouac studied at local Catholic public schools and the Horace Mann School in New York City, as well as Columbia University and The New School. He was raised speaking the French-Canadian working class dialect Joual until he learned English at age five. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on March 12, 1922, Jack Kerouac, baptised Jean Louis Kirouac, was the youngest of three children of French-Canadian immigrants from Quebec, Canada.

Jack kerouac on the road 1957