all the great territories...

I went to see the Jack Kerouac show, Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac On the Road, at the New York Public Library today. Taking pictures was technically unauthorized, but I pressed on none the less. This image, the opening title page to one of the many notebooks Kerouac kept while hitchhiking across the country and writing his seminal novel On the Road, was impressive. Among the artifacts on display was a collection of his library cards, his pocket knife, dice, photographs taken by Allen Ginsberg, and a set of homemade playing cards. The exhibit runs until March and I know that I will return. It was exciting to be so close to one of my favorite authors, though after reading Thomas Wolfe, I understand a great deal more about how the mysterious Kerouac shaped his out-of-control writing style. His philosophy, first thought, best thought, has remained true for me throughout my own writing experiences, though being an editor by trade I can just as easily appreciate one, two, or even three revisions of anything.