Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship - photo 1
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship - photo 2
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship - photo 3

Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship

Lot 41
08.12.2023 12:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 10 000
AuctioneerSotheby´s
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1108760
Lot 41 | Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 15 000
Kerouac, Jack
Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship

3 pages (279 x 215 mm), on three sheets of typing paper, two on the versos of a discarded typescript, [Ozone Park], 2 January 1948, signed "Jack" in type, with an autograph postscript in pencil comprising 18 words; cigarette burn to pages 2 and 3, previously stapled and folded.

"I'm not afraid of you, as you desire me to be apparently, as a matter of fact I like you more than ever, as a man as well as a poet, and I intend to be your brother as long as I live."

An incredibly personal and substantive letter from Kerouac to Ginsberg, written as he began to work on the first draft of On the Road in earnest. It begins: "In a recent letter from Neal there is this quote — 'I understand that you and Allen had a couple of serious evenings together — and, he delicately hinted that perhaps the seriousness of the talks was the thing that was keeping you from seeing him more often —' sat so? I was really surprised when I read that, because actually, since those talks, I've called you at your W. 27th place at least 20 times ... But even more important than that, Allen, is the fact that since those talks, which impressed more than anything ever before in our relationship, I've been telling everybody about you and about those talks and about your marvelous vision of life."

He continues: "I'm mad about one thing ... if you wrote a letter to Neal in which it was hinted that I was shying away from you due to 'seriousness', when actually I was looking for you all the time, then for Christ' sakes why don't you stop reaching solepsistic[sic] conclusions about everybody, especially me ... I'm not afraid of you, as you desire me to be apparently, as a matter of fact I like you more than ever, as a man as well as a poet, and I intend to be your brother as long as I live ... There's only one thing I won't have, of course, and even you agreed with me that this was the way to do things in the world of love, remember? That was the last barrier, for I always felt uneasy about your queerness, felt that I was being smug for not joining you in that..."

On the second page, evocatively bearing a cigarette's burn-hole, Kerouac continues: "It seems to me that both you and Neal are making yourselves obnoxious with your condescending attitudes towards the rest of us. I think I'm easy-going enough on the surface to take it all in, but this explains why the others are shying away from both of you. I continue to be amazing at the tremendous amount of critical energy being expended on you two guys. What are you doing that everyone should be so conscious of both of you, with such annoyance? I don't think that's real ripeness, Allen, I think you and Neal like to annoy people."

Having unburdened himself on matters related to their friendship, Kerouac moves on to more neutral topics — an accounting of New Year's Eve at Tom Livornese's house, and an update on his writing: "I'm now only six week's real good work away from the conclusion of Town & City, which is run up to 280,000 words at present and will wind up at 330,00 wds. But what a job, what a two-yeared burden! Jesus."
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