Reaction: Jack Kerouac Exhibit at the NYPL

I actually remember when they first started touring the On the Road scroll. I was probably 16 years old and just getting into beat literature, and they were having an exhibit on it in San Francisco. I remember begging my parents to fly me out there just so I could see it. That being said, it was definitely hugely rewarding for me to be able to finally see the scroll in person.

In high school I kind of became a little... obsessed with Jack Kerouac and the beats. My Aunt lived in Marin County so I would go visit her twice a year just so I could spend an entire week locked in Citylights Bookstore. I even met Mel Clay, a friend of all the beats, who signed a copy of his Bob Kaufman biography for me and chatted with me about everything from Naked Lunch to how I could sneak into the favorite beat bar Vesuvio. I was so attracted to their energy, how everything they did produced this tremendous excitement and palpable infectiousness. When I saw all of the drawings and letters and the scroll itself at the NYPL, it definitely felt even more real to me. These were real men just doing their thing: writing, drinking, and yes-- treating women like sexual objects. But to be able to see that scroll really struck a cord with me.

I fancy myself a writer, though I'm not sure how true that really is; the Beats inspired me to keep writing when I was in high school, and seeing that scroll has renewed that fire in me. So far, the NYPL exhibit was definitely the most inspiring for me, both personally and on an educational level.

-Jessica Roy