enthalpy

Friday, July 06, 2007


Was On the Road written on one long consecutive roll of paper? Ironically, the story of writing that book isn't any more exciting than the book is.
Legend has it that Kerouac wrote On the Road in three weeks, typing it almost nonstop on a 120-foot roll of paper. The truth is that the book actually had a much longer, bumpier journey from inspiration to publication, complete with multiple rewrites, repeated rejections and a dog who — well, On the Road wasn't homework, but we all know what dogs do.

But the scroll: That part's true. Jim Canary, the Indiana University conservator who's responsible for its care, says Kerouac typed about 100 words a minute, and replacing regular sheets of paper in his typewriter just interrupted his flow — thus the scroll.
Yeah, your flow really gets interrupted when you roll of your fifth whore of the day and just swallowed your morning's handful of benneys.



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