Kerouac Alley*

The Beat Generation Multimedia Pages

www.kerouacalley.com
A Directory of the Beat Generation
and the Beat Related on the World Wide Web

*Jack Kerouac Alley (formerly Adler Alley or Adler Place) is a one-way alleyway in Chinatown, San Francisco, California that connects Grant Avenue and Columbus Avenue, running between "Vesuvio Cafe" (255 Columbus Ave.) and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "City Lights Books" (261 Columbus Ave.).

About The Kerouac Alley

*Jack Kerouac Alley (formerly Adler Alley or Adler Place) is a one-way alleyway in Chinatown, San Francisco, California that connects Grant Avenue and Columbus Avenue, running between "Vesuvio Cafe" (255 Columbus Ave.) and "City Lights Books" (261 Columbus Ave.).

This site first went on line in 1998 and included only Jack Kerouac. It was formerly called, "Jack Kerouac's Blue Neon Alley".

The Kerouac Alley is a tribute, not only to Jack Kerouac, but the Beat Generation; those writers, poets, artists and musicians who were the vanguard of the movement.

In designing the website I have attempted to include anyone who was even remotely connected to the movement. Even those classic writers who were long gone before the term "beat" was conceived are not to be left out. Thomas Wolfe, Rembaud, and others all had an influence on the writers and poets of the era. The Beat writers studied the classic authors of all eras. Wherever I have determined that a particular classic author was at least read and discussed in beat circles, I have included him or her.

If I have left someone out, please contact me. Sometimes there are just no suitable websites for an author. A few links are for writing journals, etc. These, I believe are part and parcel of any writing site. I hope you will find new modern authors on these sites that will inspire you as much as Kerouac has inspired me.

I get email complaining that this person or that person is not a "Beat" and never was. Well, that is often true. Certainly to say that William Blake was a member of the Beat Generation would be an anachronism of the highest order. But his influence on Allen Ginsberg is part and parcel of the history. William Carlos Williams' communication with Ginsberg had a major influence on his (Ginsberg's) poetry. Both Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gary Snyder say they are not Beats. No doubt that is true. Felinghetti and his City Lights Books are an important part of the history. Gary Snyder's relationship with Kerouac and his character in Jack's book, "The Dharma Bums" pretty much makes him an important part of the history as well. One could go on and on with this, but the purpose of this site is to allow the reader to do his own research on the subject.

I welcome comments. Any suggestion as to the location of a Beat site is also welcome. I am by no means an expert on this subject. If you have questions on any of the writers presented here your time would be better served by joining a usenet group. There you will certainly find the answer to your question.

If the rightful owner of any of the material presented here objects to my use of it on this site, please inform me. I will take it down. Please contact me..

Views expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the personalities and web sites listed.

Search Kerouac Alley