Mapping Hacks

I am not one of those who’s whole existence is divided into the time before reading On the Road, and
my time after, but I have had a time in my life that I would call my time on the road. Like much in my life I
was more interested in the idea of having a journey then in the particulars of the journey.

But I’ve always been awed by my image of Kerouac writing for 20 days, using a roll of teletype paper so that he wouldn’t have to pause to change pages (though it turns out that vision is more self-promotion than full exposure of the act of creation-the book had a lot more preparation and work than one manic three week burst of creation. But that is why they are called creation myths and not creation histories).

I’ve got some old writing where I wrote down to the last line, and a half line too many, where you can reconstruct
the last line from the half that is left, all because that last perfect thought had to come out before the massive delay
that changing pages imposed on my rhythm.

Which is prelude to the news that the original manuscript, the roll of teletype paper, of On The Road is on
display in San Francisco for the next three months. Here is an article about the appearance of the manuscript in San Francisco with pictures.

Posted in qpsycho |

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