Jack Kerouac at The New York Public Library

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Posted By: Joseph

The highlight of a fabulous new exhibit (Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac On The Road) at The New York Public Library is the magnificent unveiling of 60 feet or so of a single-spaced typewritten scroll of "On The Road." It may be the greatest collectible I've ever seen on public display—amazing!--UNTIL I SAW “SECTION 8.”

"Section 8” contains the materials related to the fantasy baseball game which Kerouac invented and chronicled for most of his life. OH MY GOD! It’s a good thing I live in New York because I had to leave after 20 minutes as I thought I’d die of excitement. If you’re serious about baseball board games (or obsession of any sort) you may well react in a similar fashion. There’s team cards, player cards, newsletters about league play, scorebooks, “correspondence” with Tom Yawkey…etc. Then there’s the guts of the game itself: various incarnations of rules and charts with a “Final Version” of something or other from 1965—putting the range of documents from 1935 to 1965. Mr. Kerouac was VERY SERIOUS about his game!

Simply stunning. If you are anywhere near NYC by all means GO SEE THIS STUFF! It runs through February, but you can get details at the NYPL web site. After a lifetime of lukewarm feelings about Kerouac I now love the guy.