Kerouac, Jack

Two Stories from Jack Kerouac

n/p: Pacific Red Car, 1984. Limited First Edition Thus. Stapled Wrappers. "Here we have two quite different examples of (Jack) Kerouac's short story writing, from different periods of his life. "The Rumbling, Rambling Blues" first appeared in Playboy magazine of January 1958, shortly after On the Road was published. Unusually, for Kerouac, the story, although written in the first person, does not appear to be autobiographical, but is possibly the retelling of an experience told to Jack by an acquaintance...With "In the Ring," first published in the Atlantic magazine of March 1968, we have a much later work, in a similar style to Vanity of Duluoz, and written around the same time (1967). This IS autobiographical, providing us with more segments of the Duluoz Legend from 1931-32." (from introduction by "James Tyler") A compilation of two stories written a decade apart by Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), Founding Father of the Beat Generation. Chapbook-format booklet in stapled wrappers, one of 100 (un-numbered) copies produced in November 1984 per colophon & back cover. This is a bootleg production, which appears in Ron Anstee's Jack Kerouac: The Bootleg Era bibliography (Item No. 31, pgs. 13-14; front cover reproduced in unpaginated pictorial section). Regarding the above-quoted introduction, Anstee writes: "This booklet includes (another) very helpful note by James Tyler (pseud.)." With three illustrations of Kerouac, one of which is repeated on front cover, none of which are credited- but we know that the portrait opposite page 1 below the title of "The Rumbling,/ Rambling Blues" is signed "Cassady" & was drawn by Carolyn Cassady, Neal's long-suffering wife & an intimate friend of Kerouac. From the collection of Kevin Ring, publisher of Beat Scene magazine & other indispensable productions (many available here), & our good friend in the UK. See also our item No.s 4358, 5229. An especially rare & notorious (but well-done) Kerouac collectible with distinguished provenance. In relatively fine-verging-on-very-fine condition with mild-to-pronounced fading of pink color to front, back covers & esp. stapled spine; a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; several small areas at back cover near spine-edge which appear to be offset-printing smudges likely as issued. Interior very fine with only a hint of browning to blank margins/edges of some page leaves; tiny bumps at mostly upper corners, edges of some leaves. Fine- Very Fine. [Item #5310]

Price: $90.00