Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal by Carolyn Cassady
1979; University of Nebraska Press; Volume: 13; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wal.1979.0010
ISSN1948-7142
Autores Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
Resumo358 Western American Literature It’s in the 1870s when the fictitious Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty enter the picture along with the not-so-fictitious Masterson brothers, Ed, Jim and Bat; Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp; “Mysterious” Dave Mather; “Squirrel Tooth” Alice; James “Dog” Kelly; Luke Short; John Henry “Doc” Holli day; “Big Nose” Kate Elder and others. Along with the itinerant in Dodge there also came an element of reform to the town in the guise of merchants, bankers, doctors, lawyers, school teachers and ministers. Thus the nucleus of the present community was formed — a pleasant Kansas town, Faulk contends, whose populace today speak of their present and past history with matter-of-factness. Faulk’s book has appeal to two audiences — the Western history buff who wants solid footnoting in his armchair adventuring and the reader who just simply wants to learn about the history of Dodge City. Illustrations in the form of old photographs and engravings from the prestigious file of the Kansas State Historical Society complement the narra tive. FRED L. LEE, Secretary, Kansas City Posse of the Westerners Cassady, Carolyn. Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal. (Berkeley: Creative Arts Book Company, 1976. 93 pages, $4.00.) In January, 1952, Jack Kerouac went to San Francisco to live and work at the home of Neal Cassady, his big brother figure, hero, and symbol for the beat generation. Neal promised a place to write, whorehouses, Dexedrine, and freedom in exchange for a tutor/pupil arrangement “much like Gauguin and Van Gogh.” They discussed Proust, tried peyote, and shared Neal’s wife, Carolyn, until early 1953 when tensions within the household drove Kerouac to Mexico. With this brief volume, an excerpt from a work-in-progress tentatively entitled The Third Word, Carolyn Cassady recalls that year off the road. She concentrates on their triangular relationship, while writing in a senti mental haze about her romantic encounters with Kerouac. The affair elevates her from the role of “a neglected household drudge” to “a member of the clan.” She becomes a part of their world and observes its workings. From her portrait of the beat generation, Cassady reveals characteristics not found in the self-confident hipsters of Kerouac’s writings. Though bongos and wine enliven their tape recording sessions, the men become more burdened than free. Neal must work long hours and is absent from the reverie much of the time. To relieve his anxieties he Reviews 359 sleeps or relies on alcohol and drugs. He complains of bills and money matters and begins to express resentment toward Kerouac. At the same time, Kerouac feels the frustration of haggling with his publisher. They begin to fall under Cassady’s description of the “bohemian scene.” She feels that “the people were more intense; it seemed they took themselves so seriously. . . . Few seemed to have fun anymore.” Neither man seems able to handle the beat lifestyle very well. Cassady offers little explanation for Neal, but feels that Kerouac was too self-conscious. She says, “he could observe and report with brilliant clarity all the teeming life around him, but his efforts to partake of it and lose himself in it were generally dis appointing.” Heart Beat offers little that is new to students of the beat generation. The importance of Cassady’s work lies in the support her observations and conclusions give to existing scholarship. This is evident in her portrayal of Kerouac as a romantic. A key attraction are the letters of Kerouac, the Cassadys, and Ginsberg. Allen Ginsberg’s letters are of particular interest as they reflect the spirit of the writers and their literary movement. The book’s main problem rests in its disjointed style. Cassady’s storyline contains too many loose ends as she continually leaves remarks and situations unexplained. Someone not familiar with the period and the characters would be left with many questions. Hopefully the final work will bring the story together and provide some continuity. JOHN T. MURPHY, Frankfort, Indiana The Trader on the American Frontier: Myth’s Victim. By Howard R. Lamar. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1977. 53 pages, $5.00.) I have only one objection to Howard Lamar’s works...
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