Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Desolation Peak - Jack Kerouac's Lookout

Jack Kerouac tuning into the radio

A little story about Jack Kerouac
When I was about 15 I read 'Desolation Angels' and wrote to Kerouac, via his publisher, to say how much I'd enjoyed it. I was naturally in awe of him, and certainly didn't expect a reply - but one arrived. A typed postcard with his big bold signature at the bottom. He thanked me for writing, saying how nice it was to be appreciated, and how he felt like 'a prophet without honour in his own land', then signed off saying he'd like to visit Scotland some day - 'maybe the island of Kerrara'. I kept that postcard for years till one day it just vanished from my possessions while moving between flats at University. I still wonder what happened to that precious little piece of history.