The latest edition of Washington Post book critic Ron Charles' weekly Book Club newsletter reminds us that precisely a century ago today, Beat writer Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to French Canadian parents. As Charles observes, "English was his second language, but he left an indelible mark on it."
Although his tribute does not allude to Kerouac's bisexuality, there is no shortage of material online that discusses it. In particular, I recommend a 2019 Paris Review article, "The Queer Crime that Launched the Beats." While his Wikipedia entry never addresses the subject directly, contenting itself with a comment about homosexuality being one of many themes in On the Road, "Talk: Jack Kerouac," an archived set of Wikipedia discussion threads about his entry, explores the topic at length.
Tomorrow at 3 p.m., New Yorker writer Amanda Petrusich will participate in a virtual discussion, sponsored by Politics & Prose, to consider the question "Does Jack Kerouac Still Matter?" The other guests will be Holly George-Warren, who's working on a new biography of Kerouac; the novelist A.M. Homes; and New York Times reporter John Leland, author of Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of "On the Road" (They're Not What You Think).
And if you're in the mood to go on the road yourself (sorry), Kerouac@100--a committee that includes the Kerouac Estate and the Lowell National Historical Park--is celebrating the writer's centennial all year in Lowell (here's a full list of activities).
Alternatively, Charles reports, you can get regular hits of Beat wisdom by following @DailyKerouac on Twitter. As Jack once asked, "Isn't this the time now to start following what I know to be true?"
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