Two Sylvias' Weekly Muse: February 26, 2023

Issue 44

Welcome to this week’s Muse!

Most poets and writers have some knowledge of the iconic Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. Famous for writing prose and poetry about such subjects as traveling, social injustice, drugs, music, and spirituality, Kerouac is best known for his book, On the Road (1957), a countercultural account of a journey across the US. Kerouac’s writing style can be described as “spontaneous” or “off the cuff”—he freely dismissed many traditional grammatical rules, including composing many of his works without the use of periods. Truman Capote, who didn’t care for Kerouac’s eccentric style, stated, “That’s not writing, it’s typing.”

Whether or not you are a Kerouac fan, his unique stamp on mid-20^th century literature is undeniable. In the late 1950’s, fellow Beat writer, Allen Ginsberg, challenged Kerouac to write down his rules or advice for writing. Kerouac complied with Ginsberg’s request and came up with 30 “beliefs & techniques” for composing good literature.

These “b…