Jack Kerouac is among the most important and influential writers to emerge from mid-twentieth century America. Founder of the Beat Generation literary movement, Kerouac's most famous novel, On the Road, was known as the bible of this generation, and inspired untold people to question the rigid social and cultural expectations of 1950s America. And yet despite its undeniable influence, On the Road is only a small piece of Kerouac's literary achievement, and there are now well over forty Kerouac books published. The centerpiece to this work is Kerouac's multi-volume Duluoz Legend, named for his fictional alter-ego, Jack Duluoz, and comprising numerous books written over decades that together tell the story of Duluoz's life and times. This volume offers fresh perspectives on his multifaceted body of work, ranging from detailed analyses of his most significant books to wide-angle perspectives that place Kerouac in key literary, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

A major reassessment of Jack Kerouac's literary work.

About the Author
Steven Belletto is author of The Beats: A Literary History (2020) (a Choice Outstanding Academic title) and No Accident, Comrade: Chance and Design in Cold War American Narratives (2012). He also edited The Cambridge Companion to the Beats (2017) and American Literature in Transition, 1950-1960 (2018). He is a professor of English at Lafayette College.


Book Information
ISBN 9781009423564
Author Steven Belletto
Format Paperback
Page Count 322
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 524g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 18mm