Various (Moore, Dave (Editor); Burns, Jim; Cassady, Carolyn; Cassady, Neal; Chetouti, Vincent; Conn, Jeanne; Darlington, Andy; Dowden, Kaviraj George; Floyd, Tony; Kerouac, Jack)

The Kerouac Connection No. 9 (January 1986)

Bristol, England: The Kerouac Connection, 1986. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. “Kerouac wrote often about his experiences and Neal’s while employed by the Southern Pacific railroad. I thought perhaps it would be helpful towards a better understanding of these references if some clarification were given of what this occupation entailed. Even living with it, it took me a long time to fathom the intricacies of its various aspects” writes Carolyn Cassady (1923-2013). The preceding quote is culled from “On the (Rail) Road,” Carolyn’s colorful, useful, and somewhat scholarly note-commentary on life of a brakeman. Outside of poetic depictions in songs one might have heard — for example, Dylan’s “don’t the brakemen look good, mama, / Flagging down the ‘Double-E,” (from “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”) come to Your Devoted Managing Curator’s mind — and it is, in fact hard to imagine the workaday rigors of those lives. It’s equally hard to imagine Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) or Neal Cassady (1926-1968) ever having (let alone holding down) jobs in the first place, but that’s another matter, entirely. Carolyn does an excellent job outlining the procedural-situational realities that went into their routes and jobs, and the piece inarguably constitutes an enrichment: an enrichment to the mostly-skeletal (or under-defined) facts/knowledge that many-a Beat scholar (and many more Kerouac readers/devotees) might’ve had on the topic. Living up to its title and subtitle both, Dave Moore’s impassioned Beat periodical never fails to satisfy the curious and discerning Beat reader, and Issue No. 9 is no different. Contributor list, in full, reads as follows: Carolyn Cassady (“On the [Rail] Road”); Letters to the Editor; Jack Kerouac (“Four Thousand Miles from Home)”; Dave Moore (“Beat That! – “…a new occasional series to investigate the various trivia, textual oddities and other unexplored details in the work of Jack Kerouac”); Jim Burns (“On the Road in the Thirties”); Vincent Chetcuti (“Visions of Kerouac #9”); Jeanne Conn (“Kerouac – Hot Not Cold”); James Morton (“The Unbooted Arse”); Book Reviews by Tony Floyd, Kaviraj George Dowden, and Andy Darlington; and, last but not least, TKC’s ever-present (& ever-chipper) “News” section. Small-format literary magazine-journal in stapled wrappers: the first and only printing of this Kerouac-themed periodical. From the collection of Kevin Ring, publisher of Beat Scene magazine & other indispensable productions (many available here), & our good friend. In very fine condition with only minute shelf-wear, bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers; faint, fleck-like exhibits of rusting present at/around staples at interior, exterior; else pristine. Very Fine. [Item #5369]

Price: $30.00