I’m just now beginning to catch up on all the press surrounding the recent 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
Last week we posted about retracing the literary steps of main characters Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty. This week we focus in on a specific location; Lowell, Massachusetts, the birth place of Kerouac.
In my opinion, it’s always fascinating to see where an author grew up and the surroundings which would later have such an impact on his writing style. These impressionable years of youth are usually the ones that turn an author introspective and fires up those creative juices.
Like most small towns, Lowell actively promotes their favorite son to attract tourists–despite his rather morally loose character and poor role model material. Visitors to the city of 105,000 can enjoy Jack Kerouac walking tours, Kerouac Park, and Edson Cemetery where the author is buried.
Perhaps the most notable reason to visit Lowell right now, is that the legendary scroll upon which he hammered out the first draft of On the Road is currently being displayed until October 14.