Typed Letter to Allen Ginsberg

KEROUAC, Jack (1922–1969). Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, 2 January 1948. Three pages (280 x 215mm) on three leaves, two with a play on the reverse (staple holes in upper left corners, small burn hole in pp. 2–3, possibly a cigarette burn, that appears to have been typed around, horizontal center folds). “I intend to be your brother as long as I live.” Long, personal letter from Kerouac on reconciling his strained relationship with Ginsberg, with reference to Ginsberg’s sexuality and the completion of The Town and the City . Kerouac begins, “In a recent letter from Neal [Cassady] there is this quote---“I understand you and Allen had a couple of serious evenings together—and, he delicately hinted that perhaps the seriousness of the talks was the thing that was keeping you from seeing him more often—‘sat so?” He continues by addressing and trying to reconcile the idea that he has been avoiding Ginsberg—describing a campaign of attempted phone calls, visits to his apartment and conversations to friends (Hal Chase, Ed White, Lucien Car, &c.) about how much respect he has for Ginsberg. “I like you more than ever, as a man as well as a poet, and I intend to be your brother as long as I live.” Striking is Kerouac’s direct commentary on Ginsberg’s sexuality, following a “big talk” they had one evening: “There’s only one thing that I won’t have, of course, and even you agreed with me that this was the way to do things in the world of love, remember? That was the last barrier, for I always felt uneasy about your queerness, felt that I was being smug for not joining you in that, but you yourself told me that you agreed with me on that point at the conclusion of our big talk, in front of the 23rd street subway entrance.” The letter further documents a gathering of the nascent Beat Generation: a New Year’s Eve Party as Tom Livornese’s house in Lynbrook with Huncke, Burroughs and Car; as well as Kerouac’s progress on The Town and the City , at that time about 18 months before it would appear in print: “I’m now only six week’s real good work away from the conclusion of Town & City, which is run up to 280,000 words at present and will wind up at 33,000 wds. But what a job, what a two-yeared burden! Jesus.”

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