Happy birthday to Beat writer Jack Kerouac: The only people for me are the mad ones ...

Jack Kerouac, Beat poet and author

It is the birthday of writer Jack Kerouac (1922), the iconoclast and Beat poet, whose epic On the Road was hailed as a literary achievement and brought him fame as the voice of a new generation. Kerouac considered himself a Catholic writer. "I'm not a beatnik," he once said. "I'm a Catholic." Biographer Douglas Brinkley said On the Road has been misinterpreted as story of a couple of friends in search of kicks. But, for Kerouac, it was a search for God. Every page of his diary had a prayer or a crucifix or an appeal to God to be forgiven. Kerouac lived with his mother in St. Petersburg when the last book published before his death, Vanity of Duluoz (1968), came out. He frequented such establishments as The Wild Boar in Tampa and The Flamingo in St. Petersburg. He died in St. Anthony's Hospital on October 21, 1969, the result of alcohol abuse. He was 47. A passage from On the Road, though written about others, may describe him best: "I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww!"

Happy birthday, Jack Kerouac

It is the birthday of iconic Beat Generation poet and writer Jack Kerouac, whose best known novel, On the Road (1957), tells the story of his travels across the country in the 1940s. It is considered one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century. Kerouac also wrote The Dharma Bums (1958),  The Subterraneans (1958), Doctor Sax (1959), Big Sur (1962), and Desolation Angels (1965). Kerouac died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1969 from internal bleeding brought on by alcohol abuse. Kerouac spent considerable time at The Flamingo bar on Martin Luther King Street in St. Petersburg. A Jack Kerouac Night at The Flamingo is planned for Saturday, March 16. https://www.facebook.com/events/166504523500293/

Happy birthday, Jack Kerouac!

Jack Kerouac, Beat poet and author

It is the birthday of writer Jack Kerouac (1922), the iconoclast and Beat poet, whose epic On the Road was hailed as a literary achievement and brought him fame as the voice of a new generation. Kerouac considered himself a Catholic writer. "I'm not a beatnik," he once said. "I'm a Catholic." Biographer Douglas Brinkley said On the Road has been misinterpreted as story of a couple of friends in search of kicks. But, for Kerouac, it was a search for God. Every page of his diary had a prayer or a crucifix or an appeal to God to be forgiven. Kerouac lived with his mother in St. Petersburg when the last book published before his death, Vanity of Duluoz (1968), came out. He frequented such establishments as The Wild Boar in Tampa and The Flamingo in St. Petersburg. He died in St. Anthony's Hospital on October 21, 1969, the result of alcohol abuse. He was 47. A passage from On the Road, though written about others, may describe him best: "I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww!"

We'll see you in Tennessee

We’re off this weekend to the Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair in tiny Cowan, Tennessee. This is the land of poet and novelist Robert Penn Warren, poet Allen Tate, and poet and magazine editor John Crowe Ransom, not to mention folk hero and frontiersman Davy Crockett.

Warren, of course, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for his novel All the King’s Men, thought to be inspired by the life of the populist governor of Louisiana, Huey P. Long. Warren taught at Vanderbilt University and was one of a dozen writers who became known as the Southern Agrarians, along with Tate and Ransom.

The Agrarians saw industrialization as anathema, fearing the loss of Southern identity and culture. They wrote of the importance of traditional agrarian roots in a collection of essays published as I’ll Take My Stand; The South and the Agrarian Tradition.

Let them eat cake – and buy antiques

German chocolate cake, a show favorite.

It’s always a delight to go to the Pilot Club of Jacksonville Antiques Show. That’s where we’ll be this weekend.

The show runs Friday, January 21 through Sunday January 23 at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. This is the 62nd annual show, and, no, we haven’t been exhibiting there quite that long (despite what some may think). Here's a link to the Pilot Club's antiques show Web page with all the details.

Of course, it’s the antiques that are the main attractions – furnishings, paintings and the like. We’re always happy to add vintage books to the mix. But our favorite major side attractions are the mouthwatering desserts that are offered each year.

In years past, perfectly serious antiquers have been known to come barreling through the doors and head straight for the dessert table first thing, no doubt believing in the adage that life’s short – eat dessert first. Though there were many varieties of delectable confections, the German chocolate cake was always a hit.

We’re certain the dessert elves have been working hard to come up with another amazing array.

We love working with Karyl DeSousa, the antiques show manager, and Gail Pender, the dealer manager. The Pilot Club is a volunteer service organization of professional businesswomen. The show supports the group’s charitable activities, helping the community.

The Pilot Club of Jacksonville was founded in 1921. The name was inspired by the riverboat pilots of the day “who represented leadership and guidance, staying on a steady course.” After 90 years, looks like the Pilot Club has lived up to that inspiration.