Collected Letters, 1944 - 1967 »

Neal Cassady (1926—1968) was born on the side of the road in Salt Lake City and raised in Denver by an alcoholic father. On a trip to New York City in 1946, he encountered Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg on the campus of Columbia University, a meeting many consider the beginning of the Beat movement.

Best known as the inspiration for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On The Road, Neal Cassady was a pivotal figure in the formation of the Beat generation. This volume collects letters written between the ages of eighteen and just before his death at forty-one. The bulk of the letters consist of missives addressed to Allen Ginsberg and Kerouac, along with occasional responses (such as one co-authored by Ginsberg and William Burroughs), and correspondence between Cassady and his wife Carolyn. Other figures addressed include Ken Kesey, John Clellon Holmes, and Neal's first wife Diana. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Neal Cassady (l926-68), whose life ended prematurely alongside a railroad track in Mexico after a night of drinking and barbiturate use, is considered by many to be the creative impetus behind the Beat Generation movement. Edited by Moore (the author of numerous articles on the Beat writers), this collection of some 200 letters, mostly written by Cassady to Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and two of his three wives, chronicles the short but chaotic life of a man who reveled in goodwill, sentiment, sexual behavior, and philosophy. The letters, of which two thirds have never before been published, reveal such exploits as, for example, his affair with Ginsberg; his friendship with Kerouac, who was influenced and inspired by Cassady's conversational style while writing On the Road; and his friendship with Ken Kesey, whom he joined on his journey across America in his famous psychedelic bus and whom he introduced to Kerouac. The letters also reveal that he worked as a brakeman in California while living with his second wife, Carolyn (who contributed the introduction), that he fathered several children with several women, and that he had a passion for writing letters. More than a few of the letters are inspired and fueled by hope; others are merely hedonistic, despairing, and repetitive but still well worth the reading. Recommended for public and academic libraries with strong literature collections.-Robert Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.