Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts (United States) to Canadian parents. He was baptized as a Catholic (having strong Celtic roots) when he was a baby, although he did not practice his religion later in life, despite his parents' constant bickering. He spoke French until he learned English at age six—a tremendous endeavor for such a young, inattentive mind.

Throughout his childhood, Kerouac was delighted by stories, mostly told orally to him by his father, Léo-Alcide Kéroack, about very peculiar subjects like potato farming and Catholic spirituality, which Jack seemed to implement into his stories and poems later in life. Jack's brother, Gérard, died when he was four years old, leaving him forever emotionally and spiritually scarred. This, among many other unfortunate events, eventually lead to his alcoholism as he was traumatized at such a vulnerable age.

Kerouac's father, Léo abandoned the family for alcohol and gambling. Kerouac did not mention much of this in interviews. He was too numb to speak about his father leaving the family, since his father played a major part in his life. Although Kerouac's mother remained strong in her faith, his father strayed. This influenced his wavering faith during his young adulthood.

Kerouac played football in college, dropped out, and then joined the Marines in 1942, but was later transferred to the United States Navy in 1943. He served for eight days.

He moved New York and lived with his mother while he wrote The Town and the City (published in 1950) and On the Road (published in 1951).

Most of his novels were about Catholicism and included hints of his own distrust in the faith. During his writing career, he suffered alcoholism, drug addiction, and many bouts of self-doubt. In one of his journals, he wrote his most famous quote: "Blow as deep as you want to blow." This suggested that he partook in several possible activities including:

• Prostitution
• Cocaine
• Cigars
• Gambling

Jack Kerouac died on October 20, 1969 at 11 o'clock p.m. at age 47 due to cirrhosis (which was due to a lifetime of alcoholism.)

His words live on today: "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk- real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious.”