"...I rode away, thinking, I confess, not so much of the kind mother left alone, and of the home behind me, as of to-morrow, and all the wonders it would bring."
- William Makepeace Thackeray ("Barry Lyndon," 1844)
"Coming of age" rites for young men and women have pretty much remained the same throughout history; men endure epic tests of strength and will, while women are trained in the sacred roles of motherhood, parenting and how avoid getting a case of the ass from dealing with men.
Some cynics have suggested that a woman's parenting training applies to both men and children, while others indignantly insist that following a man's orders requires no special skill. While accurate attribution for such insights isn't possible due to the degraded condition of the ancient source material concerning motherhood discovered in the Chicago 5th Street Salvation Army Store book section in 1989, the debate appears to be divided along male and female lines. [citation would help here]
Further investigation on the subject on web search engines yielded opinions too incendiary to reprint here, and all were under false names, thus making the data only suitable for Internet grade research. However, there is an admittedly tenuous historical link to Sumerian cuneiform tablets on the subject of astronomy, circa 1856, that claim men are from Saturn, and women are from Venus. [citation needed]
...grow up already...
Although maturity is a desirable quality in men (the historical record isn't clear as to when it became so, and women's opinions on the subject weren't documented until, maybe, last year), it's always been treated as an optional quality since women have to do the thinking anyway, and be the adult in situations that doesn't involve fisticuffs, watching football games, or farting exhibitions.
I should note that I'm oversimplifying for the sake of brevity, but the accuracy of my facts should fall within acceptable internet standards of truth. [citation probably won't help here]
...back to the point...
Getting back to male rites of passage...it is an important stage and what constitutes coming of age depends on what the society in question believes are the first steps to adulthood. In addition, how society defines maturity varies depending on the sex of the person, regional customs, and how long one can get away with extending the adolescent stage (which generally depends on income level).
I've given the subject of this mystical transition a great of thought since the moment it became obvious that a blog entry was needed for May, and several avenues of inquiry were considered. Hollywood was ruled out because there's already 12,345,668,890 films [citation needed again] about young men trying to trick women into having sex, and it's not clear if they actually attained maturity after doing so. Rock songs were never seriously considered, and that left books as the fount of transitional wisdom. The result will be revealed shortly.
The thing is, the modern age is complex, even if human emotions and frailties haven't changed very much. A rite of passage can now be more than a simple transition to adulthood, which in ancient times came as soon as possible as parents needed extra hands in the fields and the King needed cheap labor for tasks below the dignity of the royal person.
...life experience...
I personally tend to define such rites as a life experience that has a profound effect on a person's development or direction. It can mean the end of innocence, a realization about the true nature of something, but most of all, a moment or time where one finds their true self.
It doesn't necessarily mean you live happily ever after. Joan of Arc chose a path that lead to persecution and a painful death. Many explorers faced privation and death in remote places, and many great artists achieved everything but material success. A simple, and possibly inadequate way to put it, was that all of them found what it was they had to do.
Jack Kerouac discovered what he was meant to do on a road trip with Neal Cassidy on a road trip across the United States, documented in his seminal book, "On the Road."
...2009...
In 2009, the unpublished 1951 version of Jack Kerouac's book, "On The Road" was released and gave many of the admirers of the 1957 version a chance to revisit the work and it's legacy.
Allen Ginsberg, the legendary Beat poet and close friend, felt that the 1957 version of the book had removed much of the "mad energy" and life of Kerouac's story. Which is true, the Original "Scroll" version, which was typed out on eight long sheets of drafting paper and taped together into a single scroll, differs in some important ways.
The 1957 version was toned down, particularly in sexual details like the sexuality of some of the characters and all of the people in the book were given fictitious names. Which given the straight laced atmosphere of the 50s era, wasn't surprising, and using the real names of living persons can make any book risky to publish.
The Original Scroll (like it's later published version) had an episodic approach to story telling, moving from one scene to another as it appeared in Kerouac's head, as opposed to events tied to a linear time frame. He spends time in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, yet describes very little of what he saw. Days or weeks are often covered with a single sentence, yet many pages are devoted to conversations with a friend or friends, and if he's waiting for money to come via mail (or wages on payday), he'll just skip over to it's arrival and then the narrative becomes full again.
Also, how the story was told was just as important, if not more so, than the plot. The whole work was a grand experiment in form. A description of Lawrence Sternes', "The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy," probably describes Kerouac's book best, that it was about how far you could depart from classic novel tradition and still call it a novel.
...the America dream...
The 1950s in the United States was a time of great prosperity and the fabled "American Dream." The darker side of that vision was conformity and sexual repression, at least from the point of view of the intelligentsia and artists. They did have a point; social injustices such as the McCarthy witch hunt for communists or Jim Crow laws weren't exceptions to the rule, but part of a general attitude that if you didn't fit in, you were out.
That was the America that Jack Kerouac knew, and began to rebel against. He had an interesting and often tumultuous life, too full of detail to easily summarize here (a good subject to for you all to google), but by the time Kerouac began writing the 1951 version of "On The Road," known as the Scroll, his friends and acquaintances already included future greats like Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.
The author typed the scroll version out in three weeks, taking Benzedrine to keep on pace, and the feel and energy of the book reflects this. Having been around a lot of meth users during my homeless period, the rhythm and flow of conversation closely matched what I heard out there. It wasn't unusual for a guy on meth to riff out long streams of thoughts which would range from brilliant to banal.
...it was much more...
The book wasn't just a speed rap...the point of laying it all out, straight through without correctly placed periods, commas, and structured paragraphs (often simply separated by three periods) was to break free of the strictures of formal grammar and composition. It was a work with a fluctuating but continuous metre, or rhythm. One could say it was like a long improvisational jazz composition but with words instead of musical notes.
A musician would certainly understand this concept and his Jazz references illuminate that sensibility. It's words as music, not just in sound or rhythm but as an immediate, and direct connection to the creative source without the filter of an artistic process, style or specific form. Everything that flowed onto the scroll was left untouched, with both the good and bad notes, so to speak, bypassing any impulse to self edit or adhere to the rules of grammar (or create something that would sell).
...a view of America...
To understand the basic premise of On The Road, one has to see it for what it was; a statement of Kerouac's view of America. As he saw it, it was a "sad" place, full of conformity, repression and materialism. Whether that was true or not isn't important as far as this book is concerned. It's all about how he saw it, and his explorations were influenced by that outlook.
What makes the book's themes about freedom relevant in 2021 is that much of his rebellion was on a social level, rather than political. Most of the pressures to conform are on a personal level, with the pressure applied by family, peers or acquaintances seen every day.
Kerouac's road trips weren't an act of rebellion per se, as journeys into the unknown have always been an integral part of the American character (or mythology). What was different was that the aim of the journey was discovery and not material gain.
The underlying morality in the United States in the 1950's (and still is in many ways) was that material success is the end game or validation of any endevour. Most artists, particularly musicians, have experienced that arc of initial approval from others that begins to curve downwards when the pot of gold doesn't arrive. The attitude is that youthful rebellion and dreams are OK, as long as you grow up and get a real job afterwards.
Kerouac didn't buy into that. He sought a more direct connection to life; not what it was supposed to be or what others said it was. His immersion into philosophy, jazz, wandering, and writing was about living for experience, that is to say, leading a spontaneous or "mad" life. There was no pot at the end of the rainbow, his sights were always on the present. Such a life would experience a lot of highs and lows, but without the conception that a life could be ruined by a single mistake or failure.
...all about honesty...
One of the virtues of the Original 1951 Scroll is that it's an honest book. Jack's descriptions of various friends were candid. He describes Neal Cassidy, the other major protagonist in the book, as a Nietzsche-like philosophical primitive who stole cars in his youth, and was a womanizer (in so many words). He has a dispassionate view of another who married a woman because she had money for a road trip and dumped her once it ran out.
Needless to say, in this day and age, it'd be hard to imagine a woman who'd find such storylines a milestone in modern literature and intellectual freedom. The women in the book, from Kerouac's mother to the various girlfriends and wives, could seem to some readers that they're mainly there for sex, support, and money. However, Kerouac's depictions of females are generally quite warm, particularly with his mother and sister, but his view of women was pretty much like any other male in the 50s.
The honesty I'm talking about goes further than the sex, drug or booze fueled philosophical explorations. He was willing to include a lot of non-heroic details, like when he had to write home to get cash from his mother (though he sends her money too at times), and a lot of his adventures depend on the generosity of strangers. He's not depicting himself as a self-reliant pioneer in the wilderness.
...Orwell's kind of guy...
George Orwell talked about that type of honesty; the willingness to write something that makes one look weak or disreputable. It's easy to brag about being a drug user in an age where it's fashionable, but would modern writers (who want to look cool) casually depict themselves as freeloaders, petty thieves, or in the case of guys, ones who want to respect women but can't because they love their cheating and freedom too much? Even in modern films, anti-heroes tend to have flaws that accentuate their macho appeal, not diminish it.
One can have an opinion of how his adventures read in 2021, and since the book is being sold at a premium price, his actions can and will be judged by today's standards (and subject to reader reviews on commercial book sites). But to his credit, he didn't write the book to create a myth.
...until the next episode...
In 2021, Kerouac's book could be seen as a male oriented literary milestone that's at the least a historically valuable look at the beginnings of the Beat Culture, like the movie Easy Rider was of the 60s Counter Culture. At its best, the writing is a pleasure for the serious reader and an inspiration for any writer who aspires to do great work.
The Original Scroll is definitely the version that should have been published. To be clear, it's an uneven work, and there are parts that'll leave a modern reader wondering what all the talk is about, but the best passages come off as fresh and inspired even in 2021, where most of us have pretty much seen everything written under the sun.
Kerouac's best qualities as a writer, spontaneity and inventiveness, shine very brightly in the 1951 Original Scroll version of On The Road.
"They that know no evil can know no good; and, as the learned tell us, that a stone taken out of the head of a Toad is a good antidote against poison; so a competent knowledge of the Devil, and all his ways, may be the best help to make us defie the Devil and all his works."
- Daniel Defoe (The Political History Of The Devil - 1726)
...banning books, and related acts (part 2 of 3 parts)
I said (in the previous blog entry) that the act of banning a book doesn't always symbolize what it used to, in terms of it's actual effect, though the mentalities involved haven't changed much. Although it's common practice to make the issue all about freedom, the reasons can vary, and have become more complex due to the Internet and mass media.
The thing is, not much has changed in terms of human behavior. People have pretty much done the same things, and acted the same way, even if technology and advances in the sciences make us seem smarter than those who lived in ancient times.
The list of behaviors that haven't changed include; mobs, gangs, punishment of heresy or nonconformity, snobbery, racism, minute analysis of sports, exploitation, persecution, greed, and war. The list could include sexual behavior, but we'll leave that subject out of the discussion as 140,786,234 books have already been written on the subject (figure derived from anonymous internet sources).
...larger forces...
The banning, or burning of books is rarely about the work itself. There's larger forces in play, which can involve a wide variety of motives and agendas. It's often a form of political or even economic theatre, which can only incidentally involve a particular work. This in addition to commercial market forces that eventually condemn most new books to obscurity without any need for intervention.
In fact, anti-book crusaders often have to act quickly before the merciless jaws of capitalism exile their target to the book section of dollar stores and bargain bins. No wonder many modern attacks are directed at publishers before the sales and distribution stage. That's also the best time to make a fuss if the intent is to increase sales (the book is without redeeming social value! Also available in audio!).
In ancient times, like with the Assyrians and other such early nations, things were simpler; after conquering a country, burning their library or archives was just part of the process of wiping out the conquered culture. One exception was the Sumerians, who had all their records and literature on clay tablets, which in many cases escaped the usual rapine and pillaging. Those earthy tomes were probably mistaken for piles of bricks or something.
...Information Age stuff...
As information technology progressed, and literacy became widespread, it goes without saying that books, in whatever form, began to express a wide range of ideas, creating more complex interactions like political, social, and religious disagreements, and as always, back then as with the present, porn addiction among men.
The primary power of a book is that it can communicate an idea to another person or persons. Just as old school Kings or nobles didn't want the peasants to have truly useful military training (because of the R word), the ability to communicate ideas to others has always been controlled as much as possible to keep the masses on point.
For an earlier example, after the First Council of Nicea, convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine (the first) in AD 325, when the first bible was compiled and sort of agreed upon, Arian of Alexandria, whose beliefs and documents were excluded from the Canon and labeled heretical, was exiled and all of his writings that could be found were burned (though Constantine later rescinded Arian's exile).
That was an early attempt to ban writings, though Arian's view of Christianity survives today through Jehovah's Witnesses, and some Unitarian sects. Also, Constantine the Second turned out to have Arian sympathies, so the attempt to wipe that particular denomination had the same effect that banning a book or writings has today. It often creates sympathy or at least curiousity about a work, rather than wiping it's presence or memory out.
...all of the possibilities...
Thanks to the epic advances of information technology, anyone can now enjoy debating the fine points of political theory with people they consider stupid or below them, get into drunken fights over football teams, enjoy the convenience of cyber bullying instead of having interact with real people to form a mob to burn a witch or future Saint, and of course, for men who are so inclined, to marvel at the bleeding edge advances in porn. That stuff has "ban it" written all over it.
That might be a one sided picture of mankind, and a more balanced view should read: "Humankind is unsurpassed in it's commitment to ensuring the happiness of all who share this unique space called Earth, which is why we're proud to partner with really wealthy guys to release PR statements that raise awareness about the poor people and cows who waste the oxygen that the ever shrinking number of trees produce, and affirm our commitment to sustainable energy so that all can continue to consume beef.
I do have to point out (yes again) that a certain amount of oversimplifying and generalization is necessary to keep the narrative short and the digressions long. To paraphrase Rousseau, I may be short of facts, but not of the truth.
...that darn Internet again...
The effort to ban books has become commonplace due to the Internet, which makes it possible to read a lot of ebooks for free or at low cost. That does increase the chance that some tome or another will be hated or vilified (Keep in mind, I'm not saying every book deserves to be read. That's a different issue).
The Internet though, is anarchic in nature, and resistant (though not immune) to "cancelling." Because of that, nothing's ever truly wiped out. In fact, a hundred years from now, if humans are still around, historians will see the net as a valuable look at the sheer variety of human thought and behavior that existed, but wasn't documented as it used to only matter what kings and wealthy men thought.
As they say, the Internet is forever, and book burners are kidding themselves if they think destroying or banning any book actually eliminates any idea, even ones that deserve to be, from the face of the earth. But 100 years from now, there'll still be those who'll try. Some things will never change.
Note: in part three, I'll talk about some famous book burner types. They're often more interesting and harmful than the ideas and books they tried to destroy.
- Al Handa
The Al & Ivy Homeless Literary Journal Archive:
There are earlier blog entries on the Delta Snake Review section of this site that aren't on the On The Road page:
http://deltasnake.blogspot.com
http://deltasnake.blogspot.com
Cover Reveal For Hide In Plain Sight
This is the cover for the upcoming book, Hide In Plain Sight, hopefully out sometime in 2021.
-Al Handa
The American Primitive Acoustic Collection by Handa-McGraw International can be streamed on all of the major services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and dozens of others.
The Music Of Handa-McGraw International can also be heard on the Electric Fog Factory on YouTube. You can hear the album, and dozens of unreleased cuts and demos, plus exclusive video of Ivy.
