THE DAILY BEAT: Curation #2 from my Kerouac bookshelf: Jack Kerouac Collection 3-CD Set

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Curation #2 from my Kerouac bookshelf: Jack Kerouac Collection 3-CD Set

The top of my Kerouac bookshelf

We are already at the second item on my Kerouac bookshelf in this curation series. As you can see above, underneath the pile of books on the left is an item labeled The Jack Kerouac Collection 3-CD Set (well, you can't read all of that in the picture so you'll have to trust me). It's still available from Amazon (see below) for $33.99. I don't remember what I paid for mine or how long I've had it (it's been years).

The cover

The CDs and the accompanying booklet

Sadly, CDs are just about extinct, as are CD players. Do new cars even have them anymore?

Nevertheless, this collection is audio gold for Kerouac fans, including 3 CDs: Poetry for the Beat Generation; Blues and Haikus; and Readings by Jack Kerouac on The Beat Generation. It includes a great booklet stuffed full of information about the set, starting with a reflection by Jack's daughter, Jan Kerouac, and moving through instructive pieces (some long, some short) by David Perry, Allen Ginsberg, Gerald Nicosia (2 pieces), Jerry Garcia, Stephan Ronan, Ann Charters, Steve Allen, William Burroughs, Michael C. Ford, Robert Frank, Ray Manzarek, Edie Kerouac Parker, Michael McClure, and Harvey Robert Kubernik. It concludes with a sessionography, bibliography, and a producer's note. It includes pictures throughout.

This booklet is worth the price of the set, but it's really about the recordings. Below is a picture of the sessionography that you'll likely have to enlarge to read. As I intimated above, it's a Kerouac gold mine. Everything here is Jack reading Jack.

Sessionography

Hence, what are you waiting for if you are a Kerouac fan and don't have this collection? I know I need to revisit the insert and listen to the CDs again -- it's that valuable and entertaining. And I would go so far as to say you don't even need to be a Kerouac fan to enjoy the recordings. Jack reading Jack is a thing all unto itself. Mellifluous is a word that comes to mind.

While we don't have nearly enough audio of Jack, at least a chunk of it is in this collection.

Happy listening.

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Reviews of The Beat Handbook

Gerald Nicosia, author of the acclaimed Kerouac biography Memory Babe, said The Beat Handbook is "full of Jack's heart."

Jared Randall, author of the excellent book of poetry, Apocryphal Road Code, said this about The Beat Handbook: "Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time. In my wandering pack of experiences, I find they often do. Enter The Beat Handbook by Rick Dale."

Kenneth Morris, Kerouacian extraordinaire, said this:
"I just finished reading Rick Dale's beautiful utterance and call to action of Kerouac mind-set and zen sensibilities. It made me laugh and reflect on my own life and road I have naturally grooved into after absorbing the Kerouac canon. The road less traveled always had my name on it. And that has made all the difference. The Beat Handbook 100 Days of Kerouactions reaffirms the attitudes and ideology that made the Beats and Kerouac the important men of ideas that America (and the world) thirsted for, needed, and swallowed whole. Beautiful, absorbing, Top Ten whipsmart from my articulate, tender-hearted friend and fellow traveler. Highly recommended."