Jack Kerouac House
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 28° 33.877 W 081° 23.490
17R E 461709 N 3159812
A recently erected marker in the College Park area of Orlando.
Waymark Code: WMMPY6
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/22/2014
Views: 11
Writer Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) lived and wrote in this 1920s tin-roofed house between 1957 and 1958. It was here that Kerouac received instant fame for publication of his bestselling book, On the Road, which brought him acclaim and controversy as the voice of The Beat Generation. The Beats followed a philosophy of self-reliance and self-expression. The unedited spontaneity of Kerouac's prose shocked traditional writers, yet it brought attention to a legion of emerging poets, musicians, and artists who lived outside the conventions of post-World War II America. Photographs show Kerouac in the house's back bedroom, with piles of pocket notebooks in which he scrawled thoughts and dreams while traveling. In April 1958, following completion of his follow-up novel, The Dharma Bums, and a play, the Beat Generation, Kerouac moved to Northport, New York. He died in 1969 at the age of 47. In 1996, author Bob Kealing discovered the house's significance while researching an article to mark Kerouac's 75th birthday. In 1998, The Kerouac Project established a retreat here for aspiring writers in tribute to him. In 2013, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marker Number: F-806
Date: 2014
County: Orange
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: The Jack Kerouac Writer in Residence Project and the Florida Department of State
Website: Not listed
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