The True Story Behind Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road': Debunking the Scroll Myth
By
samclemens
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
This article examines the complex and mythologized publication history of Jack Kerouac's novel 'On the Road,' debunking the popular legend that Kerouac wrote it in a single frenzied typing session on a continuous scroll. The piece explores the actual circumstances of the novel's creation in April 1951, its long gestation period, and the difficult struggle to get it published, with particular focus on the roles of Kerouac, his then-wife Joan Haverty, and editor Malcolm Cowley.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledNo American novel of consequence has had a more tortuous or mythologized path to publication than On the Road.
Jack Kerouac supposedly composed it in a days-long bout of frenzied typing, feeding a continuous scroll of paper into his typewriter to avoid breaking the flow of inspiration.
Yet as Kerouac scholar Isaac Gewirtz has written, this is accurate but not true.
The myth of the novel's composition neglects the larger context of its long gestation and even longer struggle to reach print.
The accurate part is this: On April 2, 1951, Kerouac sat down in his then-wife Joan Haverty's apartment...
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